


Blood or Water

by RayaKor_El



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-21
Updated: 2018-05-07
Packaged: 2019-04-26 01:33:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 60,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14391402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RayaKor_El/pseuds/RayaKor_El
Summary: A new threat is looming over National City. Kara must juggle being Kara Danvers and Supergirl as she and the DEO try to take care of the problem before it gets out of hand. Lena struggles to deal with the repercussions of the threat and is confused as secrets are unveiled. Will Kara's identity be safe or will this cause more chaos in her life as a menace brews in National City?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! So I'm new to using AO3; I usually just post my stories to Fanfiction. But the amazing Leapyearbaby29 recommended I get an account here. So up until chapter 20 has already been written, and after that, it's all posted as I write it. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys it!

As I walked past the L Corp building, I noticed that something strange. There were one too many black cars parked on the street. There was no casual foot traffic in front of the building. I stopped walking and studied the entrance from across the street. Seconds later, a few well-dressed men strolled out of the doors. I used my x ray vision and I saw guns strapped to their sides and badges attached to their belts.

Part of me wanted to go inside and make sure that Lena was okay, but another part reminded me that I needed to be at the DEO. I quickly made my way back to my apartment to drop off my stuff before changing and flying off to the DEO. I landed down and strode over to J'onn and Alex. I noticed that there was some chaos as agents worked under J'onn's authoritative glare. "Umm, what's going on?" I asked him.

"New report from Stryker's Island Penitentiary."

"Isn't that where-"

"Lex Luthor is being held for his 37 life sentences, yes. Apparently, he was broken out, or he broke himself out. Either way, he is on the loose and no doubt coming back for revenge." I shook my head. "No, there's no way that he got out. That place is seriously a fortress. I couldn't even break out of there with my powers and a map through the maze of cells."

Alex jumped into the conversation. "Exactly, which is why the government believes he had help to get out." I huffed. That explains the men at L Corp today. "Does Kal know?"

"Yes, Clark was informed and is trying his best to locate Lex without raising any suspicion." J'onn answered. "What do we do?" I asked. "Nothing for now, since the president is trying to keep it all under wraps." J'onn explained. "So, it won't cause mass panic, got it." He nodded at me.

"Are we just supposed to wait around until the president gives us the green light? Like no investigation whatsoever? I know that the DEO is for aliens, but activity has been down for the past few months."

I smiled. "Yeah, you know it has." Alex rolled her eyes playfully and then offered me her fist. I smiled brighter as I fist bumped against it. "Yes, Alex, that's exactly what we are supposed to do. We are a government agency, so we follow the president's commands."

An alarm went off. "Speaking of which, alien spotted at the docks, and he does not look happy." Winn informed me. "Duty calls." I flew off. I touched down gently before I had to duck as an empty oil barrel flew over my head. I ran to the alien before he could empty another barrel. "Hey, I hope you know that you'll have to pay for that. And just a heads up, oil isn't cheap these days." The alien roared at me and grabbed a barrel with its mighty hand.

He ripped the barrel in two and drank the oil as it ran down his face. He threw the two halves at me. I was going to dodge them, but I realized that there was a crowd of people around us. I took the blunt of the impact, which didn't hurt, but it was extremely thick and greasy as the black sludge leaked onto me. Gross. "Get out of here." I commanded to the bystanders.

I flew over to the other stock of oil barrels sitting in a docking bay. I hovered over the door, just enough for him not to see me. As he thundered through the door, I let gravity drag me down on top of him. He cried out as we both smashed into the ground. He swung his fist and I ducked under it. I countered with a quick upper cut and a swift kick to the chest.

He went flying back into the barrels, which collapsed from its neat pyramid. He roared as he got to his feet. His light blue skin was now almost black from the oil, but I could see his eyes clearly. They were pulsating bright yellow as he charged to me. I rolled out of the way and he crashed into the wall.

"Umm, so, were you guys just going to wait as The Blob's long-lost cousin and I fight this out or what? I'm running out of ideas and places for him to run into." I jumped back as he interlocked both of his hands and tried to smash me into the ground, like a whack-a-mole game. What? Oh, help's on the way. Just hold out a bit longer. "Winn, while you're waiting, find a way to get this oil out of my hair after I'm done." No problem. Alpha Team is 2 minutes out.

After a few more minutes of fighting, I finally spotted the helicopter which was carrying Alpha Team. They rushed the alien as I distracted him. He fell with a large thud. Alex walked over to me cautiously as the entire floor was almost covered in oil. "Are you okay?" She asked. "Oh, yeah, that was a bunch of fun. Now I get to take a million showers to get all this off."

Yeah, about that, I think I know how to get it out of your hair. "Great!" But it'll involve vegetable oil, cornstarch, dish soap, and a bunch of showers to get it all out. "Great." I deadpanned.

I flew back to the DEO and followed Winn's directions to get all the oil off. I changed into some black DEO sweats and a grey DEO shirt. Finally, Alex and the others arrived with the secured alien. Alex walked back over to me. "You still smell like a mechanic's garage." She pointed out. I groaned. "Ugh, I thought it was almost gone." She smiled and shook her head. "No, not really. Go home and take a proper shower. Maybe then you'll smell better." She stated. I nodded. "Okay, but if anything changes about Lex, let me know."

"Of course."

I flew back to my apartment and took a few more showers trying to get rid of the heavy smell that the oil drenched me in. I sat down on my couch in my pajamas. I was about to turn on my tv when there was knock on my door. I used my x ray vision and I saw Lena standing there nervously. I stood up and answered the door quickly. "Lena, hey. Are you okay?" I asked. She bit her lip. "No. Haven't you heard?"

I shook my head. "Umm, no?" I tried to lie. "You have." She sighed. "Yeah, I did. How are you holding up?" I asked.

"Not great. The Feds were at L Corp today. They questioned all my employees and then came to me. They questioned me thinking that I helped his escape. And the word got out that Lex is free so no other businesses will work with us until he's caught and it's proven that I had nothing to do with it. I came here hoping you'd believe me that I didn't break him out. No one else will. I don't know what to do."

I pulled Lena to the couch and sat her down. "Of course, I believe you Lena. There is no reason why I wouldn't. People are just afraid. Fear clouds people's judgment." She smiled at me. "Thank you, Kara. I always knew I could count on you."

"Isn't that what best friends are for?"

Her smile dropped. "What?" I asked. "Why are you friends with me? Everyone else believes me to just be a Luthor. I'm not even blood! I was adopted, cursed into the Luthor linage." She sighed. "But ever since you came into my life, you've been by my side. You've even got Supergirl to support me. Why put your faith in me like that?"

"Because I see the best in people. I know exactly what you meant when you said that you were just trying to make a name for yourself outside your family. I was the same way before between my real family and my adoptive family. I know how hard it is, and how appreciative it makes you for a friend."

Lena's smile slowly returned to her face. "Thank you, Kara. It's a breath of fresh air compared to everyone else." I returned a smile. "Anytime Lena." Lena stood up and I followed her. I opened my arms and gave her a quick hug. "Now, I best be going before the Feds show back up and ransack my office."

After Lena left, there was another knock on my door. I stood up and lazily walked over to it. Kal stood in the doorway. "Hey Kara." He smiled at me.

I stepped to the side to let him in. I gave him a quick hug. "Hi Kal. What are you doing here?"

"I heard about the alien today. With the oil spill and everything. I wanted to see how you were."

I smiled. "Oh, I'm fine. It wasn't anything I couldn't handle."

"And Lena? How is she? I saw her walking out of the building and she didn't look happy." I sighed. "Yeah, she's going through a lot right now with Lex escaping." He frowned. "Yeah, that's something I wanted to talk about with you."

"That's the actual reason why you're here, isn't it?" I asked. He nodded. "Yes. Kara listen to me. I know you think Lena is good, but people have tried to associate Lena with Lillian and Lex before."

I huffed. "I know that, but they were wrong about Lena's intentions."

He bit his lip and furrowed his eyebrows. "Yeah, I guess so. But as soon as someone good messes up, they immediately think that they are evil, and everyone who are friends with them are evil too. I was friends with Lex before he tried his first plot for world domination." He paused for second.

"The only way to get people to not associate you with any evil that comes with the Luthor name is to fight them. And that is the worst thing. Fighting your best friend. You'll believe that they are still good on the inside, and try to help them. And it'll hurt when they turn their crosshairs on you. The pain of seeing your friend in prison for the rest of his life stays with you, and it kills you even more to know that you were the one who put them there. To rot."

I shook my head. "No, Lena's not like that. I know that she's different. She hasn't done anything to convince me otherwise." He crossed his arms. "What about Medusa?" He pointed out. "No, she called the police on her mother. She helped all the aliens from being killed." I retorted. "Exactly, she went against her own mother, what's stopping her from turning on you? On Supergirl?"

I exhaled. "Y'know, I'm having a déjà vu moment right now. Did Alex or J'onn send you?" I asked. Kal grabbed both of my shoulders and gazed into my eyes. "Kara, I don't want you to get hurt. I don't want Lena and Lex to come after you, or Supergirl. I want you to stay away."

"No, I won't abandon my friend when she needs me. I'm sorry Kal."

I turned to get a drink from the fridge. "What will you do when she does turn on you." I turned back to him quickly. "What?"

He crossed his arms. "What will you do when she turns you against us?" He elaborated. I stared at him in shock. "Lex knows about the other forms of Kryptonite. He knows how to synthesize most forms. What will happen when you're exposed? What will you do when we have to fight each other?"

"Clark, I think it's best if you leave." I stated. He nodded. "Okay. But please, for everyone else. Just think about it." He jumped out of my window and took off into the sky.

There was another knock on the door. I groaned. All I wanted was to sit on my couch and watch tv as I destroyed some mint chocolate chip ice cream. Mon-El was sitting in the doorway.

"What are you doing?" He looked at me before jumping up. "I thought it was movie night? But I heard you and Clark talking so I waited."

Mon-El and I walked back into my apartment. "How much did you hear?" I asked. "Almost all of it." He answered. "Why didn't you leave?"

"You two seemed mad and I wanted to make sure that you were okay after he left." Mon-El looked over to the open window. "Winn and James told me about the Red Kryptonite incident. How you attacked people. Do you think Lena will use it against you?" I crossed my arms. "I don't really want to talk about that, Mon-El. It was an accident, and I never meant to hurt anyone." He shook his head. "I'm not blaming you or trying to hurt you, Kara."

I adjusted my glasses. "I don't know, Mon-El. I trust Lena, but it's Lex I don't trust."

We sat in an awkward silence until Mon-El finally broke the silence. "I'm so sorry Kara. I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories-" I cut him off. "It's okay Mon-El. It's just-I- The Red Kryptonite was a terrible experience and I never want to go through that again. It forced me to be everything I stand against. Anger, resentment, fear, jealousy. I almost did something that I would've regret for the rest of my life." I bit my lip. "You mean hurting Alex?" I swallowed thickly and nodded slowly.

"Yeah, but the thing is, I remember exactly what twisted thoughts ran through my head as I stared down at her, heat vision burning in my eyes; ready to be unleashed. Inside my head, I was screaming at myself. Begging my body not to do it. I was praying that anything would stop me, anything. Then, after I was cured and I realized the impact of my actions and deepest thoughts, I decided to bury it all." Mon-El placed a hand on my shoulder. "It's alright Kara. We all have sides that we don't want others to see. Or even know we have. You were involuntarily exposed to a drug that altered your brain's chemistry. But don't push away your experiences, they make you who you are."

He rubbed my arm reassuringly. I gave him a small smile. "That was very, umm, eye opening and inspirational? Where did you learn that?"

"Winn has been showing me daytime tv that deal with emotional problems. It's actually quite intriguing." I rolled my eyes. "Great, that's exactly what we need, Winn letting you watch tv and you becoming the psychologist of the group."

"Not to mention the chef." He added. "Hey, no, I can cook." I pouted playfully. "Can, yes. Should? Maybe not." I hit his arm. "Hey, at least you're not as bad as Alex is." We both laughed. "Now, as for my other reason for coming here." He trailed off.

"I heard about this genre of movies that are called Slasher-" He was cut off by my phone ringing. "Hello?" Kara, get back to the DEO. And if Mon-El is with you, bring him. "Alex, what's happening?" Just get here. Quickly.


	2. Chapter 2

Mon-El and I raced off to the DEO. I noticed that half the screens that monitored the radiation levels in and around National City were pulsing red. "What's going on?" Mon-El asked.

"Ever since there was news of Lex escaping, we've been scanning for increasing Kryptonite levels. And about 10 minutes ago, there have been multiple areas with increasing levels." Winn stated. "Do you think Lex set off some Kryptonite gas bombs?" I asked. J'onn shook his head. "No, the signature isn't exactly right. He probably knows that we would've been scanning for it. Why else would it be in multiple areas and the incorrect synthetization of Kryptonite? No, he's playing with us." Alex stated.

"So, he wants us to know he's here?" Winn asked. "Yes, it's part of his game. Lex wants to intimidate us. Wants us to know that he's one step ahead." J'onn crossed his arms and then looked to me. "Kara, you're not to leave the DEO until we deem it safe for you."

"What? I-" I was cut off by Alex. "We know you can handle yourself, Kara. But we don't know if this half-baked Kryptonite can harm you permanently or not. We just want to be safe." I crossed my arms and huffed. "Fine. But what am I expected to do while I'm under house arrest?" Alex smiled. "That's why we needed Mon-El."

I glanced over to him and his eyes went wide. "Training session." J'onn stated before walking away with Alex.

Mon-El and I made it down to the training room and took our stances. My left elbow was in front of me to protect my ribs, my right elbow was pressed against my side, my left shoulder was pressed against my jaw, my right hand was pressed against my jaw and my left hand was ready to attack from in front of my chin. Mon-El took a sloppy jab to my stomach. I used my left arm to counter his forearm and I used my right arm to deliver a blow to his side.

Mon-El staggered and tried to laugh it off. I smiled back at him. He leaped over me and I ducked as he tried to kick my shoulder. I swiped my foot at his ankle and he fell to the ground with a thud. I placed my knee on his chest. He panted and I raised my fist. "You give up?" I asked. He nodded. I stood up and offered him my hand.

Mon-El stood slowly and stretched the side that I kicked him. "I expected you to last longer, Mon-El." He grunted as he lowered his arm. "No, not when I have to fight against Alex's fighting prodigy."

"Oh what, you expect me to go easy on you?" He smiled. "Yes, that would be great." I laughed. "No, if anything, you deserve another round with Alex. Then you'll be dying to spar with me again."

Mon-El rushed over to my side. "Yes, exactly! I'll be dying! Your sister may not have any powers like you and me, but she packs one hell of a punch. Please don't tell her." He pouted.

"She won't have to, Mon-El. You just volunteered yourself for some one on one with me." Alex stated as she walked into the training room. Mon-El groaned. Alex turned to me. "It seems to be clear of any dangerous amounts of Kryptonite. If anything, it'll feel like allergies."

"But I've never really had allergies before. I think I'm going to die."

She smiled. "You'll be fine. If anything, I'd worry for your Daxamite. He barely lasted against you." She teased. "Whoa, whoa hey! He's not my Daxamite. And I'm a pretty good fighter now." I growled in a low voice. "Oh, right, he's not yours. No, not yet." Alex winked at me. "Alex-"

I looked over to Mon-El, who suddenly seemed interested in our conversation. "Kick his ass." I walked out of the training room and heard Mon-El whimper.

I took to the sky as soon as I left the DEO. There was a new sensation in my body as I raced above National City. My chest was tight and I felt light-headed. I couldn't stay focused and my eyes continuously lost its clarity. I swallowed harshly and my hand shakily went up to the comm.

"W-Winn." Kara? Are you okay? "Something's wrong. I don't feel- right." How bad is it? "Bad." I accidently dropped 10 feet in the air. That's strange, we took samples. You shouldn't be affected. At least not to this extent. Can you make it back? "I don't th-think so." There was commotion in the background of Winn's connection.

Kara, what's going on? "Alex." I had to slow down as it felt like the wind was knocked out of me. I tried to regain my breath and I panted heavily. Kara? Tell me what's happening. Where are you? "The Kryptonite. In the air, h-hurting me." Where are you Kara? J'onn asked.

"Dunno. Somewhere above the city." Wait, you're still flying? Winn sounded shocked. "Y-yeah." I dropped even more from the sky. "No-t for long." I added. Just hold on for a few seconds longer Kara. I'm coming for you. I heard Mon-El call.

I tried to fight gravity as long as I could, but it finally won. I started to plummet to the ground before I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around me. "I have her." Mon-El reported. Good, hurry and bring her back to the DEO. Alex commanded.

A few minutes later, I was brought into the room where Mon-El was held during his exposure to the Medusa virus. There, Alex, J'onn, Mon-El, and Winn waited. I stood on the other side of the glass, feeling stronger as they had solar lights shining on me. "I don't understand, why did the Kryptonite start to effect Kara? I thought you said it was safe?" Mon-El crossed his arms and a bit of anger laced into his voice. "It was, when we scanned it. But there must've been another factor that was added to make the Kryptonite active as Kara left." Alex glared at Mon-El for a second.

"That means he must be watching us, or somehow is keeping tabs on what we do." J'onn stated. Winn looked a bit frightened. "Kara, I'm so sorry. I should've kept monitoring you and the radiation density. This is all my fault." He apologized. I shook my head. "It's okay, Winn. I know that you didn't mean for this to happen. Mistakes are made all the time."

"Yes, they are, but we can't afford any. This one could've been a near fatal fall." J'onn stated and crossed his arms. "I'm fine now aren't I? I mean, I'm standing here, talking to all of you. Don't blame Winn. Anyone could've made the mistake." I defended. I looked over to Winn's sad eyes. "It's okay Winn. I'm fine."

"So, when can Kara be released?" Mon-El asked. "Not until we can consistently know that the density will stay below the critical levels. Sorry, Kara." Alex answered. J'onn, Alex, and Winn left to scan the levels surrounding National City. I sat down on the bench. "Great."

Mon-El smiled at me. "You know what this calls for." I raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Monopoly." I rolled my eyes as he started to set up the board. We played 2 long games, which reminded me of the first time we played together, minus Mon-El passing out.

He moved my piece and it landed on a chance card. Mon-El picked it up and smiled as he read it. "Well?" I asked. "It's a get out of jail free card." He flipped it over and showed me. I sighed. "If only that applied to real life."

He frowned and placed the card down on my side. "Don't worry Kara. You'll be out of here soon." He stated. We finished the game and I fell asleep on the metal bench.

I woke up some time later. No one was near the holding area. The only thing out of the ordinary was an orange slip on the glass. I smiled at the card. Get out of jail free.

I stood up and stretched under the yellow sun lamps. Seconds later, the door opened and Alex walked into the room. "Hey, I didn't expect you to be up." She stated. "What time is it?" I asked. "About 1:15 in the morning."

"What are you still doing here, then? Go home and sleep. I know you must be tired." Alex shook her head. "Not until you're allowed to leave." I scoffed. "Come on Alex. I'm in the DEO. This place is a fortress crawling with capable agents. Lex can't get me. And I know that you have been working hard. Get some sleep. I'll be here tomorrow when you come back." I stated. Alex bit her lip and thought about it. "Go, Alex. Go home, go see Maggie. I'm fine here. Winn is here, J'onn is here, Mon-El is here. I'm fine."

Alex eventually smiled at me. "Thank you, Kara. I love you." I smiled back. "I love you too. Now go get some sleep." She turned around and started to walk out. "I owe you."

"Yes! Pizza and potstickers! As soon as I'm released, we're having a sister night." I called. "Of course!" She left the room. I sat back down on the bench and sighed. Now all I had to do was wait.

Sometime during the night, I must've fell asleep, because before I knew it, it was the bright morning. I was greeted by Winn carrying a large bag. "Hey Kara. I brought you some breakfast and coffee." He opened the door and sat next to me.

"Umm, Winn? Aren't I supposed to be quarantined?" He took a bite of a bagel. "Oh, were you not told? I told Vasquez to tell you. I just figured that you were too tired to leave."

He reached into the bag and pulled out a donut. I smiled as I took a bite of the cruller. "Kara, I know that you say it's okay, but I really want to say I'm sorry. You could've gotten seriously hurt because of me. If it weren't for Mon-El, you would be." I put the cruller down on a napkin.

"Winn, I understand that you are upset, but I want you to know something. I trust you completely. I trust you with my life and I know that you wouldn't willingly endanger me." I placed my hand on his arm comfortingly.

"I mean, if I didn't trust you, do you think I would've told you I was Supergirl? Would I have let you design my now iconic suit if I didn't trust you? No. But I did, because I know you and you're my best friend. So, don't worry about it. I'm fine. Okay?" He nodded and then offered me a shy smile. "Thanks Kara."

"So, I can leave?" I asked. "Yeah, there is almost now levels of the strange Kryptonite levels and we tested for active Kryptonite, but found none. You should be okay. But before you leave, we want to monitor you for a short amount of exposure outside, just in case." Winn explained. "Sounds good to me. As long as I don't have to be locked in this quarantine area again."

Winn and I stood up and left the room. We made it to the control room, where Alex and Dr. Hamilton were standing. "Ready?" Dr. Hamilton asked. I nodded. "Kar, the very moment you start to feel anything out of the ordinary, tell us. We need to know right away, okay?" Alex had concern written on her face. I nodded again.

I started to walk out the DEO. It was strange, being afraid of the air, of being outside. I took a shaky breath and walked out further. Alex paced herself behind me, ready to catch me or rush me back into the DEO. After a half an hour, I turned back to Alex. "I think I'm okay." Alex didn't seem convinced. "Winn?" She asked. I'm not seeing any signs of Kryptonite. It seems to have dissolved. I heard Winn comment in the comms.

Alex turned back to me. "Are you sure?" I nodded. "Yeah, it would be by now that I could feel the effects. But I feel fine."

"Really?"

I sighed. "Do you really think I would lie about this? I know too much exposure can kill me." I stated, annoyed. Alex eyed me for an extra second. "Okay. I believe you. Winn, I want you to put cap on the amount of Kryptonite that can be detected before Kara must be report back here." We started to walk back inside the DEO. At what percentage? "20%."

"Whoa, wait! 20?" Yeah, Alex, that's really low. "We need to anticipate any circumstance. You could be all the way across National City and the levels could be almost critical. You wouldn't make it here in time. Or if you're stopping some crime or rescuing someone, we need to give enough time for you to make it back. Make it 20."

A new voice chimed in before I could. "Alex is right, Kara. We need to be prepared for anything. We don't know what Lex is planning yet. He could be going after you, or just using you as bait to get to Clark. Either way, we need to be cautious." J'onn stated.

"Okay. Fine. Set it to 20." I glared lightly at Alex, who smiled triumphantly at me. I left the DEO and changed into different clothes. I finally checked my phone and noticed that I had a few text messages from Lena. I immediately rushed off to L Corp. "Lena, I just got your messages, are you-" I stopped talking as I realized someone was in the office, talking to her. My blood froze as he turned around. "Kara, you're here." Lena seemed nervous. The man's cold eyes turned to me. They studied me intently. "You'll have to forgive Lena. She's terrible at introductions. I'm her older brother, Lex." He stuck out his hand. I hesitated for a second before accepting it.

"Kara Danvers."

"Ahh, yes. Kara Danvers. The up and coming reporter from CatCo. It's great to meet you." I raised my eyebrow. "You know who I am?" There was a slight mischievous gleam in his eye as he answered. "Of course, I do." He paused for not even a second, but it worried me anyway. "I've read your articles. And I've heard so much about you from Lena. She tells me that you two are best friends." He answered coolly. "Uhhh, yeah. We're best friends. Ever since she came to National City."

The room fell into an uncomfortable and tension filled silence. Lex clapped his hands together. I saw Lena jump slightly from the corner of my eye. "Well, I best be off. It's been a very long day." He began to walk out. I looked over to Lena with worry. "Oh, before I go, Kara, I think it would be best if you don't say about my appearance here. I know that it would give you the best story ever, but I can guarantee that it would cost you dearly." He smiled deviously at me. "It was great meeting you." He added, and with that, Lex walked out of the office.

I looked back to Lena. I could see that she was shaking. I grabbed her shoulder as she swayed. "Are you okay, Lena?" I asked. "Yes, I'm fine. I wasn't expecting Lex to just show up. I mean, why risk showing his face here?" I shrugged and led her to her sofa. We both sat down. "I'm sorry for not getting here sooner." I apologized. "It's okay. But can I ask why you were gone? I thought that we planned lunch." I paled. "Oh Rao, I'm so sorry. I totally forgot." I spoke in a hurry. Lena raised her eyebrow and I realized my mistake. "Rao? What-" Lena trailed off. I closed my eyes for a brief second.

I took in a breath and opened them back up. Man, Alex is going to kill me. "Lena, there is something that you need to know about me." I started. "O-kay." She drew out. "I'm- I'm not normal. I-" I stuttered nervously. How was I supposed to tell Lena I've been lying to her face the entire time we've been friends? "I know what you are." I stayed quiet for a second, trying to figure this all out.

"You're an alien." She stated. "Pshhh. What? No! I-" I tried to play it off cooly, but failed miserably. "Kara, I have cameras in my office. I know that you were the one who sabotaged my Alien Detection Device." She stated.

I swallowed thickly. "Yes, I am. Lena, I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you or-" Lena smiled warmly at me. "Kara, slow down. It's okay. I know that maybe I was too forward about how I felt about aliens when we first met. As I got to know you more, I decided not to continue with the device."

"Why?"

"I realized that you and all the other aliens just want to live here in peace. You don't want to be treated any differently than the humans." Lena elaborated.

I sighed in relief. I guess it's okay if she only thinks that I am not human. Just not Supergirl. But why doesn't she recognize me as Supergirl? It doesn't matter. I have to be happy that she hasn't made the connection yet.

"I wanted to tell you sooner, but the Danvers always stood against me telling anyone else." I stated. "Does Winn and James know? Mike?" I bit my lip, trying to think of an answer. "Yes, they accidentally found out one day." I lied halfheartedly. It hurt to lie to Lena, but I had to in order to protect her from Lex and Lillian.


	3. Chapter 3

"How did they take it?"

"Better than I thought they would." I stated. I looked back into Lena's eyes. "I am truly sorry for not telling you." She shook her head and then smiled. "You don't need to worry about it. I understand why, but promise me one thing."

"What?"

"Please don't lie to me again. I'm tired of everyone hiding things from me. I'm tired of being left in the dark about everything."

A weight settled in the pit of my stomach as I nodded. "Deal." Lena smiled at me. "Thank you, Kara. I'm glad that you told me." I smiled back at her, but a bit hesitantly. "I'm glad that you accept me for what I am."

"All you are to me is my best friend." I smiled brighter at her. I heard the door open from behind me. "Miss Luthor, a Mr. Darren Anderson from Wayne Enterprises is here, and is wanting to talk about a possible company partnership." Jess announced. I stood up.

"It seems that not everyone has lost faith in L Corp. I'll let you and Mr. Anderson work on this partnership." I started to walk out. I turned around before I exited. "Be safe, Lena. And I'll try to always have my phone on me, in case you need me."

I left L Corp and flew back to my apartment. There, I found Alex waiting. "Hey, what are you doing here?" I asked as I sat next to Alex. "I thought that you were going to come back here. I just wanted to make sure that you made it back safely." I rolled my eyes.

"I'm fine, Alex. I've faced Kryptonite before. And I know that you are going to say that this is a different type, and it is, but I've been exposed it a lot more Kryptonite and survived. You even held me for observation, I'm fine."

Alex sighed. "I know. I guess that I'm just worried for you, now more than ever because Lex is here. And I know you trust Lena, but I'm still uneasy. I don't know where her loyalty lies." I bit my lip as I thought about my confession to Lena. Alex raised her eyebrow. "What happened? Where did you go before you came here?" She asked.

"I went to L Corp. Lena texted me a few times, and it seemed urgent. I showed up and I saw him."

Alex's eyes went wide. "Lex was there? Why? Did he recognize you? What did he do?"

"I don't know if he knew me or not. He was cryptic; all he said he knew Kara Danvers from my articles."

Alex reached for her phone. "We need to tell J'onn. We need to track down Lex right now." I shook my head. "No, we can't do that. Before Lex left the office, he told me not to say anything about him being there. Otherwise it'd cost me. I think he was meaning that in more ways than one." I explained.

"How did Lena seem after he left?" Alex asked. "She was shaken up by Lex appearing at her office. It looked like she saw a ghost after he left. I believed Lena before that she didn't have anything to do with Lex escaping, but now I know that she doesn't want anything to do with him."

Alex and I sat in a nervous silence. "There's something else, Alex. When I was there, I messed up. Big time." I admitted. "Messed up? What did you do?" She asked. "I forgot that Lena and I had plans for lunch the day that I was held for observation. She was curious on why I wasn't there, and I started to ramble about being sorry."

"What did you do?" Alex's voice was laced with a bit of anger. "Lena found out that I'm an alien." I declared. Alex's nostrils flared. "Kara, how could you? We've fought so hard to keep your identity a secret! Now a Luthor knows that your Supergirl, and Lex will exploit the fact you've been lying to Lena, and she'll turn on you!"

I cut off Alex before she could continue. "No, it's not like that, Alex. She only knows that I'm an alien. For some reason, she didn't say a thing about Supergirl. I thought the second she knew I was an alien that she would connect me and Supergirl, but she didn't."

Alex furrowed her eyebrows. "That's strange. Lena has an extremely high IQ. I don't understand why she wouldn't see it right away. Because, no offense, but your disguise sucks. Even Maggie saw through it pretty easily after she knew you were an alien."

"I've thought about it as I flew back here. When I first came out as Supergirl I talked to Kal and James. I didn't understand how people couldn't recognize me. Especially those who saw me and Supergirl daily. Kal told me that he didn't understand it either when he first came out as Superman. After a while, he realized that humans couldn't make the connection between the two because no one ever could believe that Superman, an extraordinary figure in the eyes of humans, could be walking among them." I clarified.

Alex sat there for a second, thinking. "But why would you only rely on the hope of that misconception? On that sole reason why people don't make the association between Kara and Supergirl, and Clark and Superman. Why not a wear masks?" She questioned.

"I considered that too, but as I thought about it, I knew that I couldn't wear one. Masks make people feel uneasy. It's harder to trust a mask than a face. A mask and all this power would only terrify people, not inspire hope."

"You've thought about masks a lot, haven't you?" Alex asked. I nodded. "Yeah, it scares me sometimes. I'm afraid that my identity will be compromised and I'll put you, Maggie, Eliza, Jeremiah, Lena, Mon-El, Winn, James, Miss Grant, and all my other friends and family in danger. I'm scared even more now that Lex is here. But there's nothing I can do, except play along in his game."

My phone went off and broke the tension that I felt building up in my chest. "Hello?" Kara, we have a serious problem. There was an explosion at the National City Hospital. People are trapped and the firefighters can't get into the building. The fire is raging and part of the hospital is beginning to collapse. "I'll be there as soon as possible Winn." Hurry.

I turned back to Alex. "I heard. Go, but be careful." I nodded, changed into my suit, and rushed off. I could see the smoke as soon as I got into the sky.

I used my x ray and saw a few people trapped on the 7th floor. I rushed into the flames and pushed my way to the trapped people. I almost got to them before a part of the ceiling fell. A little girl screamed and who I assumed was her older brother, shielded her from the falling debris. "Supergirl!" He called. "Don't worry, I'll get you out. Just stay low and away from the flames."

I jumped through the wall of flames. The heat licked at my skin and my heart raced. I reached the kids just as the flames roared. I pulled off my cape and wrapped it around them. I scooped them up and jumped out the window. I landed down and handed the two kids over to the medics. I reattached my cape and flew back into the building.

I rescued a few more people and I returned to the 7th floor. There was only one person left. I pushed my way to the back of the hall.

I coughed as the smoke inhalation began to affect me. I blinked as my eyes burned. I tried to use me x ray vision, but my eyes were blurry. "Hello? I know you're here somewhere. I'm here to save you. I need you just to say something." I shouted. I closed my eyes and listened intently. Above all the crackling, sizzling, and popping, I heard the faintest call for help. I rushed off to the corner of the hallway.

There was a girl, pinned under a medical table. I could see a pool of blood starting to burn. The girl reached out weakly. "Sup-Supergirl." I looked around and saw the fire approaching us quickly. I used some of my freeze breath to slow it down. "Okay, I'm going to move the table off you. Ready? On three. One, two, three!" I pulled the table off and she cried out in pain.

Her hands flew down to the wound on her leg. I placed my hand down to stop the bleeding. "Sweetheart, I need to you stay awake. Okay? We'll get out of here in a few seconds. I just need to stop the bleeding." She swallowed harshly. "I-I'm N-Nora."

"Okay, Nora. Just hold on. We'll get you back to your parents."

She shook her head weakly. "No pa-parents. Aunt a-and uncle." I picked her up gently. I started to make my way back out, but another part of the building collapsed, blocking my way. "Okay, then hold on, for them. They must be really worried."

She smiled at me. "The-y won't be. I-I'm with you. My he-ro." Her eyes rolled back and her body went limp. "No! Nora! Stay with me!" I found a room that wasn't on fire. I pulled both of us into the small room. I laid Nora down and checked for a heartbeat. There was nothing and she wasn't breathing. "No, Nora! Come on! Please!" I started to give her chest compressions.

Supergirl, where are you? "Seventh floor. Don't know what room." I panted. What's going on? Did you lose your powers? Panic laced Winn's voice. "I found a girl. She was pinned and bleeding. I was about to get out, but the roof collapsed. We're trapped and her heart stopped. I can't get out without letting her die." I bit my lip and tears stung my eyes. But it wasn't from the smoke. "Please Nora. Stay with me." I pleaded.

"Winn, where the hell are the firefighters? The medics?" I cried into my comms. Kara, they're trying to make their way up to you. Hold on. "It's not me that has to hold on."

The comms fell silent and I could feel the heat coming from the door. I continued to give the chest compressions. I took in a breath and my chest protested as smoke rushed in instead of oxygen.

After a few more minutes, I heard shouting. I was panting and gasping as the room was filled almost completely with smoke. Finally, the door burst open and firemen stood in the doorway. I noticed that the flames were dying down as they doused them with water. They rushed in, grabbed Nora, and rushed back out. A fireman kneeled by me. "Supergirl, are you okay?" He placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Is- is everyone else out?" I asked hoarsely. He nodded. "Yes, you got everyone out in time. Come on, you need some oxygen." He stood up and helped me to my feet. I followed him down to an ambulance. I sat in the back and held a mask to my face. I took in a breath and coughed harshly.

A medic came over to me. "Supergirl, I don't know about your physiology, but you're dehydrated and have a mild case of smoke inhalation. I assume that you'll be fine. Just take it easy and keep breathing." I pulled the mask away from my face. "What about the girl? Nora?" I asked. "She was taken to St. Elizabeth's for treatment. We won't know of her condition for a while. I'm sorry." I nodded. "Thank you." She nodded and walked off.

After a few minutes of sitting in the back of the ambulance and breathing in the pure oxygen, I decided to go back to my apartment. I made it back and pulled off my suit. It was covered in soot, and in blood. I gritted my teeth and marched to my shower. I scrubbed the bloodstains and soot furiously.

Tears burned in my eyes as I thought to Nora. I jumped out of the shower and pulled on some pajamas. There was a knock on my door. Mon-El was standing there with ice cream. He smiled at me. "Hey, I saw what happened. Are you okay?" I shook my head and allowed him in. "No, I'm not okay. I don't know if the girl I tried to save, Nora, is alive or not. I couldn't get her out in time. Her heart stopped." I whimpered.

Mon-El placed down the ice cream on the counter and held me in a soft hug. "Hey, hey. It's okay. You saved everyone from that fire. I heard that Nora is still going strong. Don't give up hope so easily. She'll be fine." He comforted. I leaned into his shoulder. "Thank you, Mon-El."

"No problem Kara. I know that today was a bit traumatic for you. That's why I brought you your favorite ice cream."

I pulled away and smiled shyly at him. "Mint chocolate chip?" I asked and he smiled. "Of course. I know you're probably tired. I'll let you get some sleep. Goodnight Kara." He started to leave. "Goodnight Mon-El."

The next morning, I saw a text from Winn. Nora Zale, St. Elizabeth's Hospital, West Wing, Room 302. I pulled on my cleaned suit and flew down to St. Elizabeth's. I nervously walked through the halls and up to Nora's room. As I approached her room, I could see two people in the room, who looked like Nora. They both had her dark brown hair, and her aunt looked like an older copy of Nora. I swallowed nervously and knocked on the door.

They both turned around and surprise crossed their faces. They both walked out of the room to greet me. "Supergirl." The aunt breathed anxiously. I held out my hand. "I'm sorry there wasn't a better circumstance to meet in." I said in an apologetic voice. "Are you kidding? You saved Nora's life. We are so grateful for what you did for her." The uncle stated as he shook my hand. "I'm Mikael. And this is my wife, Sofia." Mikael introduced. I shook Sofia's hand gently.

I looked back through the small window into Nora's room. "How is she?" I asked. "She has a broken leg, severe smoke inhalation, and luckily only first degree burns on her arm. But otherwise she's going to be okay. Thanks to you." Sofia informed me. "Of course, this is my job." I stared at her still form that was sleeping on the bed. "Can I go in?" I asked.

They nodded. "Of course. She's been sleeping ever since the surgery." Mikael stated. "Surgery?" I questioned. "When the table fell on Nora's leg, it broke the tibia in 3 places. They had to go in and secure metal plates to ensure that the bone would heal straight. It's nothing life threatening, just precautious measures for a speedy recovery." Sofia explained.

She opened the door for me and I slowly walked in. I heard Nora's heart beating rhythmically and it brought a sense of happiness to me. I walked over to her and held her hand. Nora was going to live. She was going to be okay. I bit my lip as a tear threatened to fall. "You said that I'm your hero, Nora. But do you want to know a secret?" I glanced to the door for a split second. "You're my hero. Stay strong for me, okay?" I laid her hand back down and walked out of the room. I said goodbye to Mikael and Sofia before leaving the hospital with a bit more hope in my chest.


	4. Chapter 4

I landed back down at the DEO. I walked into the control room and spotted Winn at his desk. "Oh, hey Kara." Winn typed away on his keyboard. "Winn, thank you for sending me the info for Nora."

Winn stopped typing and looked up at me. "How is she?" He asked. "She's recovering. I talked to her aunt and uncle. They said she went through surgery to correct her broken leg. But she's going to fine." I looked down at the floor.

"Then why do you look so sad?"

I shrugged. "I don't really know." He grabbed my hand. "Kara, Nora is alive right now because of you. You gave her a second chance to enjoy her life."

I squeezed his hand. "Yeah, you're right. I think it just scared me to see anyone; to see Nora trapped like that. It was terrifying to hold someone's life in my hands."

"You've done it before, Kara. Remember the man who slipped of the scaffolding and shattered his shoulder and collarbone on the concrete? He was bleeding out, but you managed to save him and he healed up just fine."

"I guess. But I think this was different."

Winn raised his eyebrow. "How so?" He asked. "I don't exactly know. When I looked at Nora, I saw- I saw-" Nora's terrified face flashed in my mind. "Myself." I finished.

I rung my hands. "I mean, when I saw her trapped, I could feel the terror radiating off her body in waves. I felt like I was 13 again, and seeing my parents for the last time." I clarified.

Winn was about to speak again when J'onn walked into the control room, with a look of regret etched on his face. Winn and I exchanged a confused look. J'onn made his way to my side. "Kara, we need you to go to Lena Luthor's office."

"Umm, okay?"  
"But not as you, as Supergirl." He elaborated. "You're going to make me question her?" I asked, a bit of anger in my voice. "Yes." He answered shortly. I crossed my arms. "Who's we? You said, 'we need you'."

J'onn sighed. "The president has stepped in and is requiring the DEO to investigate the Luthors. She declared Lex an enemy of the state. She wants us to take down Lex, or anyone who aids him." I clenched my jaw, but said nothing. It was above him, and no amount of complaining or stalling would satisfy the presidents orders. I could see that J'onn didn't want me to do this either.

I walked away from him and out to the skies. I flew to L Corp and hovered over her balcony. I landed down softly.

I saw Lena's black hair cascading down as she sat at her desk, working. I knocked lightly on the glass door. She stopped writing and turned around.

Lena stood up and opened the door to her balcony. "Supergirl." She greeted coolly. "Lena. I hope I'm not bothering you."

She crossed her arms. "Trust me, I'd rather be in your company than those of the media or FBI." She stared at me for an extra second before speaking again. "So, why are you here?" She asked.

I hesitated for a second. "I think you know why." I answered. Her shoulders sagged slightly. "Oh." She walked back to her desk and I followed her in her office. She sat down and looked at her work. I stood awkwardly by her desk. Her bright eyes glanced up to me. "Look, Lena, I didn't want to come here. I didn't want to ask you about your brother."

She shook her head. "Lex isn't my brother. At least, not by blood." She stated emotionlessly.

"We need to know if he's contacted you. We need to know what he is planning. Please Lena."

She bit her lip before answering. "He did. He came to L Corp yesterday." Lena confided. "What? How did he get through the checkpoints around the city? L Corp security?"

"I'm not entirely sure about the checkpoints. I only assume he had help from someone inside the city. As for my security, I found out that he left a backdoor in the security software before he was arrested. He left the backdoor in the bones of the coding. It was undetectable. He knocked out all security measures and any way to contact the police."

I thought about when I rushed into her office yesterday. "And your assistant, Jess?" I asked. "I had her in the lobby trying to clear any sign that the FBI were here a few times." Lena answered.

"Why did you have her doing that?"

"My name and company was already being dragged in the mud because of his escape. But I didn't need more reasons for other companies to not want to partner with L Corp. Having the FBI constantly here just ruins the company even more." She answered.

"Did Lex say why he was here? Did he tell you anything about his plans?" I asked. Lena shook her head. "No, he only came in to tell me that he was back in National City. He said that I should be aware of him coming by again soon to talk about some 'family business'." Lena looked distressed.

"What happened after that?"

"We were still talking when Kara Danvers showed up."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Why did she show up?" I asked. "I sent her a few messages earlier that day. We planned for lunch and she didn't show. I didn't hear from her at all and I was worried." Lena explained. She was worried about me? Really? I swallowed the strange feeling in my throat and continued.

"So, after Kara showed up, Lex just left?" I asked. Lena nodded. "Yes, but not without threatening Kara. He didn't want her to write anything about him being in National City." Lena looked down to the ground before sighing.

"Did he threaten you?" I asked. She nodded slowly. "Yeah, but it's not like he needed to. I know what he is capable of doing. Everyone does."

I could see pain in her eyes. I took a step closer to Lena and placed my hand on top of hers. Her eyes shot up to mine. "Lena, it'll be okay." She pulled her hand away from mine. "I don't think you get to say anything." She snapped.

Lena looked away from me and sighed. "I'm sorry, Supergirl. I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just that with Lex being back here, it's bringing up some bad childhood memories." She smiled sadly. "Not that it matters. You're Supergirl, you shouldn't be here supporting me emotionally."

"Lena, just because I'm Supergirl, doesn't mean that I don't care about anyone more, or less, than others." She smiled and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Thank you, Supergirl."

I nodded at her before walking to the balcony. "Of course, Lena. There is just one thing." I started. "What?" She asked. "Promise me that you'll talk to someone before you do anything stupid. I doubt that it'll be fun to chase you through the streets as you play chicken with cars at 2 am."

She laughed. "Oh please. I can hold my liquor." She defended playfully. I smiled. "You better."

The next few days went by uneventfully. I sat in my office at CatCo, going over my latest article. My phone suddenly started to go off. "Hello?" Kara, we need you at the DEO. "What's going on?" It's about Cadmus. We may have a lead. "I'll be there soon Winn."

I walked over to James' office. "Kara, hey, Snapper was just on his way over to you to get the article." He stated. "I need you to cover him for me." I looked over my shoulder and saw people too close to his office. "We may have found that snake in the grass." I added quietly. His eyes widened and James nodded. "Got it. I'll take care of Snapper for you."

I thanked James and then rushed off to get dressed in my suit. Not even 5 minutes later, I arrived at the DEO. "What's the lead?" I asked as I approached J'onn and the others at the control room. "Agent Schott has been continuously scanning for any increases in radiation levels. And the scanner has been picking up small traces of Kryptonite, but there are increasing levels of uranium. We believe that Cadmus is trying to weaponize kryptonite within a nuclear bomb." J'onn stated.

"We think that they are trying to infuse the kryptonite so when the bomb goes off, it'll wipe out any chance of you or Clark coming back." Winn added.

"Why make it part of a nuclear bomb though? That'll threaten way more than just Kal and I." I pointed out. "Maybe Cadmus is planning to target more than just you and Clark. It would be a perfect opportunity to take out a large amount of the alien population in National City." Alex suggested. "Whatever they are planning, we need to stop it before they can follow through." J'onn concluded. "Where are the radiation levels being registered at the highest?" Mon-El asked.

Winn studied the monitor for a second. "It looks like the same place you fought that Hellgrammite feeding off DDT." He answered. I nodded and took a step away from the monitors. Mon-El grabbed my forearm. "You're not going there." He stated. I pulled my arm away from him. "Yes, I am. If I don't stop Cadmus, they'll launch the bomb and will kill millions of people and aliens. I can't let them do that." I argued. "But they have Kryptonite there. You could get hurt." He reasoned.

"Mon-El is right, Kara." Alex interrupted. I shook my head. "I'm willing to risk it." I stated. Alex glared at me. "But we're not. Right J'onn?" She looked over to him. I cut him off before he could say anything. "Winn, what are the Kryptonite levels at the plant?" I asked. "It looks like it has stopped at about 16 percent." He answered. I looked over to J'onn. "I can handle that. Please J'onn." He sighed. "Fine. Mon-El, go with her. Alex, ready Alpha team." He commanded. Both Alex and Mon-El looked extremely unhappy.

I flew off to the power plant as Mon-El and Alex rode in the helicopter. We landed down a few minutes later. I burst through the doors and were met with an onslaught of bullets. I blocked Mon-El and Alex as the bullets bounced off my chest. "It's Supergirl!" One of the gunman shouted. I felt something hot graze my side. I cried out and looked down. My suit was cut and blood trickled down. I jumped to the cover that Alex was using. "Are you okay?" She asked. "They have Kryptonite bullets." I stated. "I told you. Now we're sitting ducks."

I rolled my eyes and grabbed the stun grenade from her vest. "No, not yet." I pulled the pin and threw it to a group of gunmen I saw through the metal containers. There was a loud bang and shouts from the men. I jumped over the cover and rushed over to the disoriented men. I crushed and snapped their guns. "You're clear!" I shouted to Mon-El and Alpha team. They rushed forward and we restrained the downed men.

I heard a gunshot and I grabbed the bullet before it could reach Alex's stomach. I turned around sharply and saw the shooter on top of a shipping container. I flew up to him and threw the gun off the side. He went to punch me and I grabbed his fist. He reached for his belt and brandished a glowing knife in a horizontal slash.

I jumped back as he almost caught my side. He slashed wildly and I dodged his sloppy attacks. I landed a solid punch on his jaw and he recoiled. I kicked his knee and he collapsed to the ground with a shout. His head landed down with a thud and his eyes closed.

I reached down to grab him, but suddenly his eyes opened and he cut my cheek with a large upward arc. Pain bit at my skin and I knocked him unconscious. I grabbed him by the collar and dragged him down to the others.

"Supergirl, you're bleeding." Mon-El stated as he saw me approach. I waved it off and dropped the gunman. "I'm fine." I looked over to Alex. "Where are we headed?" I asked. "We're not sure. We tried to interrogate one of the men, but they took a cyanide pill. The others were knocked out cold or fatally injured." I closed my eyes for a second and tried to listen for any clues.

I heard Lillian's voice down one of the long passageways. "She's down this way. Come on." I stated and lead them to where I last heard her voice. We cleared the corridors as we ran through them, making sure that there were no gunman waiting to attack us. As we passed another corridor, I felt my knees go weak. I stumbled and Alex caught me. "Are you okay?" She asked. "There's Kryptonite in there." I stated.

"How much?" Mon-El asked. "Enough to throw off my powers from out here." I answered. "Okay. Mon-El, go in there and find the Kryptonite. Try to contain it in lead so the DEO can handle it safely. Be careful, we don't know if it is stable or not. Supergirl and I will push on to find Lillian." Alex commanded. Mon-El nodded before running down the other passage.

Suddenly, we were attacked by another wave of bullets. "Hold your fire!" I heard Lillian command. I gave Alex a confused look. "Supergirl, if you come with us, I promise that Agent Danvers and the rest of the agents will leave this place alive. If not, we'll kill them and take you anyway. You're choice." She declared. Alex glared at me and shook her head. "You're crazy to think that I would trust your word. And we won't give up that easy." I stated. "Come now Supergirl. An opportunity to save your sister and you give it up that easy?" A new voice stated. I peeked out from behind my cover and saw Lex standing next to his mother.

I hid back down as he fired a glowing gun in my direction. "Lex, aren't you supposed to be in prison?" I teased. "Actually, I got out early. Good behavior." He taunted. "You know, I have a lot of people that are wanting to meet you." I called. He laughed. "I don't really like the crowd you run with Supergirl. I think I'll just stay here in National City. I have a lot of catching up to do and a lot of planning." He stated.

There was a large explosion to my left and the area broke out in chaos. Bullets started to fly everywhere and people were shouting. I jumped over my cover and saw Lex and Lillian trying to get away. I flew up to the catwalk and chased after them. Lex looked back and fired his gun blindly over his shoulder at me. Kryptonite bullets whizzed past me. Another explosion rattled the catwalk we were on and it gave way. The metal pulled away from the concrete wall and we tumbled to the harsh asphalt.

Lex scrabbled over and grabbed the gun by his knee. He got up and aimed the gun at my face. "Goodbye Supergirl. This could've been so much easier." He fired the gun and I braced for the worst, but the bullet bounced off my forehead. It ricocheted off and hit Lillian, who was near me.

She grabbed her stomach as it bled profusely. Lex looked down the gun in confusion. "You idiot! That's not the right gun!" Lillian cried. Lex glanced over his shoulder dove for the other gun that had skid away and sat by the fallen catwalk. He aimed it at me and fired a few shots. Most of them missed, but the last shot hit my shoulder.

I cried out and held it as it bled. The gunfire stopped. I looked around and Lex was gone. I pulled myself up and walked over to Lillian. She was bleeding out quickly. Fear was in Lillian's eyes, along with some tears. "My boy; he left me." She stated to herself. Her eyes glanced over to me. "Are you going to let me die, Kryptonian?" She asked weakly. "Alex!" I called. I grimaced as pain coursed through my shoulder. "No, I'm not like you." I answered her.

I heard footstep racing over to my side. "Supergirl, you're hit!" Alex ran over to my side. "I'm fine. Lillian's hit too. She doesn't have long." I stated. A few more agents ran over to us. "Med evac's ETA, 10 minutes." An agent reported. Lillian coughed and blood spilled from her mouth. "She doesn't have that long." I pulled her up into my arms. "What are you doing?" Alex asked. "She's more valuable to us alive. No matter who it is, I can't let anyone die." I stated. Lillian groaned in my arms and grabbed my arm. "It's too late, Kara." She whispered. I looked down to Lillian's pale face. Her eyes were barely open. "No, I won't let you die." She laughed weakly. "I'm your enemy, yet you want me to live."

"I told you, I'm not like you."

She shook her head. "Put me down." She stated. I carefully placed her down. Lillian's breaths were getting shorter and shallower. "It's funny, I loathe aliens, yet you want to save me. I've tried so hard to kill you, yet you save me." She tried to laugh, but it only came out as another cough. She forced her eyes open.

"I want you to promise me that you'll keep Lena safe. Lex, he's planning something big." Her eyes started to roll backwards, but they refocused. "What is he planning?" I asked. "Promise me." Her breath caught in her throat. "What is Lex planning?" I repeated. "'Romise." She whispered. "I-I promise. Tell me what Lex is planning, Lillian."

"He's-He's going to-" Her eyes closed and I watched as she took her last breath. "Damn it." Alex breathed. Even though Lillian was evil, my heart still clenched. It hurt me when anyone died, especially when I could've saved them.


	5. Chapter 5

The DEO cleaned up the scene of any evidence of the nuclear bomb and the Kryptonite before the NCPD arrived. The DEO left the cover that it was a gang related drug deal gone very wrong. We arrived in the helicopter around 5 minutes later and I was taken to the med bay. Mon-El stood by my side. Dr. Hamilton walked over to me with her hands full of surgical equipment. She cut away the part of my suit surrounding the gun wound. She tapped some gauze under the wound. "This'll hurt. I'm sorry Kara." She stated. I gripped the edge of the bed as she cut into my shoulder to make it a bit easier to see and find the bullet. I cried out as more pain rang through my shoulder and all the way down to my fingers.

Dr. Hamilton pulled back and dabbed away the blood. "Damn it. The bullet seemed to have shattered into fragments. I need to get them out before they move around and damage your shoulder even more. Hold this here. I'll be right back." She stated. I held the gauze over the wound. Mon-El leaned in closer to me. "Mon-El, I'm fine. I don't need you to look after me. I've survived this long without you." I huffed. I watched as his jaw clenched, but he stayed where he was. "I know, but I feel bad that I wasn't there to help you."

"Like I said, I don't need you to look after me. I've been Supergirl longer than you've been on Earth. I know how to handle these things."

Dr. Hamilton came back with another tool. He scoffed. "Clearly not, you got shot and slashed by Cadmus' Kryptonite." He pointed out. "Mon-El, I've faced worse than this. I can do this." I stated angrily.

Dr. Hamilton looked up from her spot next to me at Mon-El. "Mon-El, I need you to leave. You're making her mad and it's making it harder to extract the fragments. The tissue near it is getting aggravated." She stated. Mon-El hesitated. "Leave, Mon-El." I ordered. He sighed and left the med bay.

Dr. Hamilton finally pulled all the pieces to the Kryptonite bullet out of my shoulder, but it didn't start healing immediately. She wrapped my shoulder up. "It should heal completely in a few days. But as of right now, it'll be tender and it might bleed. Take it easy, and no lifting buses or tankers until it's better. A few of the muscles and tendons in your shoulder took some damage. It seems to be healing fine, but I don't want you to make it any worse. But other than that, you're cleared to leave." She stated.

"Thank you, Dr. Hamilton."

I walked out of the med bay and to the control room. "Kara, was there anything else that Lillian said to you about Lex? Or Cadmus' plans?" J'onn asked. I shook my head. "No, there was nothing before Alex arrived. But she was going to tell me about them before she died." I stated. J'onn fell silent for a second. "Yeah." He trailed off.

"What?" I asked. He sighed. "Someone needs to Lena of her mother's death." He stated and looked at me. "No. No! I'm not going to be the one who tells her. Not as Kara  _or_  as Supergirl. Choose someone else, anyone else." I stated angrily and walked off.

I got a ride back to National City from one of the DEO agents. I climbed my stairs and collapsed on my bed. The effects of the Kryptonite and the fight slowly started to weigh down on me. I changed into some sweatpants and a t shirt. I rolled back over on my bed and closed my eyes.

The next second, I heard my phone going off. I reached over and pulled it to my ear. "Hello?" I answered groggily.  _Kara? I'm sorry, did I wake you?_  "Lena? Hey, no. I was just taking a quick nap _." Oh, I'm sorry. I can call you later._  There was something in her voice that made me worry. "No, no. It's fine. Are you okay?" There was a hesitation before she spoke again.  _No, I'm not_. Her voice broke.  _Some FBI agents came here and told me that my mother was killed._   _"What?!_ "

A surge of anger rose in my stomach. I didn't want to be the one to tell Lena, but I wanted to at least be there for her when she was told.  _Yeah, I don't know what to do. I don't know what to feel. I mean, she wasn't my mom by any means but-_

I cut her off. "Where are you right now?"  _Umm, see that's the thing, I don't really know. I went out for a walk to clear my head._ "Okay, just stay there. Try to find some landmark or something."  _What are you going to do?_ "I'm coming to get you."  _What? No, it's past midnight, I can't let you do that._ I glanced over to my clock and realized that I must've knocked out for at least 6 hours. "And I can't be letting you wander the streets at this time, especially not alone." She let out a sigh of relief. _Thank you, Kara._ "Of course, Lena. Stay there and I'll be there soon."

I pulled on a hoodie and threw on some shoes before jumping out of the window. I flew over the darkened city scanning the streets and listening for her heartbeat. Finally, I located her by the industrial section of the city; which was a good distance away from L Corp. I landed down about a block away and jogged over to Lena.

She was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. Instead of wearing her usual business attire, she was wearing a t shirt and some distressed jeans. "Lena!" I called and jogged over to her side. Her head shot up and looked for me. She quickly wiped the side of her face with her palm. "Kara?" She questioned and stood up straight. "How did you find me so fast?"

"You remember Winn, right? He was at your gala a few weeks ago; you know he has a knack for hacking into traffic cameras." I answered. The corner of her mouth twitched slightly. A gust of cold air circled around us and I saw Lena shiver. I pulled off my jacket and handed it to her. "Oh no, I'm fine." She stated, but I knew that she was lying. "Take it Lena, I can see you shivering."

Lena sighed and took my jacket. "But aren't you going to be cold?" She asked. I shook my head. "No, I'll be fine. I can handle the cold really well." I assured. Lena pulled it over her head. "Thank you, Kara." I nodded before grabbing her arm gently. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" Lena asked as she walked beside me. "My apartment. You look tired and I don't want you to be alone." I stated. We grabbed a cab and rode back to my apartment in silence. Finally, we made it up the stairs. I could tell that Lena was trying not to fall asleep.

I handed her a glass of water as she sat at my counter. "Thank you, Kara." She stated. I nodded. "Of course, Lena. And you don't have to talk about anything tonight. Go to sleep, and if you want, we can talk about this tomorrow. My bed is back here." I lead the way and she followed me. "Kara, I can't take your bed. You're already doing so much for me." She refused.

I shook my head. "You can, Lena. I can see that you're fighting yourself right now for sleep, and it looks like you're going to lose." I stated as I watched her body sway sleepily. She sighed in defeat. "Okay."

I smiled. "Okay, I'll be on the couch." I went into my drawers. I pulled out a t shirt and some pajama bottoms and handed them to Lena. I grabbed a blanket from the foot of my bed and draped it over my arm. "Don't be afraid to wake me up if you need anything during the night." I began to walk out of the room, but Lena stopped me. "Thank you, Kara." She repeated. "You're welcome, Lena." I walked out to my couch and I fell asleep about 20 minutes later.

I woke up the next morning to complete silence. I made my way over to the kitchen and I made some coffee. I walked over to one of my cabinets and grabbed a mug. Without thinking, I closed the cabinet loudly. I cringed as soon as it banged shut. I waited for a second before quietly moving over to the coffee maker. A few seconds later, I heard soft footsteps from my room.

Lena popped out from around the corner wearing my clothes. Butterflies stirred in my stomach as she sat down. Worry ran through my body as I looked at her. Despite sleeping for a solid couple of hours, Lena still looked extremely tired and her hair was messy. "Morning." She grumbled tiredly. "Morning Lena. Coffee?" I asked. She nodded fervently. "Please." I gave her a small smile. "I take it you're not a morning person?"

"No definitely not. It takes me more than a few cups just to be functional." Lena answered groggily. "You're just like Alex. Don't even talk to her unless she has at least two cups of coffee in her. Okay, hold on, I'll get you a mug." I reached up and I winced as pain shot through my shoulder. "Are you okay?" Lena asked, any hint of exhaustion disappeared from her voice.

I placed my hand on my throbbing shoulder as I turned around to fill the mug. "Yeah, I'm fine." I lied. Lena stood up and walked around the island to my side. "You're clearly not. Your shoulder is bandaged up. What happened?"

I sighed. "I got caught in some anti alien protesting at a bar." I lied again. My stomach twisted by how easily I lied to Lena's face. She laughed lightly and I was extremely confused. "That can't be true! You at a bar? Drinking?" She snorted. I stayed silent and the joke left her face. "Oh god, you're serious. I'm so sorry, Kara. Are you okay?" She asked. "Yeah, I'm fine. Despite the occasional hate or attack, there are perks to be an alien. Like faster healing." I stated and handed her a full mug. Lena looked down to the mug. "I'm really sorry, Kara. I didn't mean to be insensitive." She apologized. I gave her a reassuring smile. "It's okay Lena, but just to let you know, I do drink." I stated. "I'm sorry, but I can't believe that." She laughed again. "I guess we'll have to go out and get some drinks so I can prove you wrong." I teased. Lena smiled. "Sounds good." She answered before taking a long sip.

Lena smiled. "This coffee is really good." She stated. "Thanks. Eliza taught me how to make it when I was younger. I mean I may not be good at baking, but she taught me a few useful things, like making a good cup of coffee." Lena looked down to the coffee and fell into silence. Her jaw clenched and she glared at the mug. Finally, Lena looked back up to me. Her eyes were filled with conflict.

"That's something I don't understand. Most mothers taught their daughters what they knew. They gave hugs to their daughters when they cried. That they would say something that would be enough to stop those tears from falling. But her words didn't stop my tears because they consoled me, it was because they were cold enough to freeze the wet tracks on my face." She bit her lip before continuing.

"She wasn't a great mother by any means. But oddly enough, I didn't completely hate her when I was growing even though she was never there when I needed her. In fact, I would always try my best to impress her, to make her proud of me. But it never worked."

She sighed. "But as I got older, she became more demanding and cynical towards me. She would never see me in the light that Lex was in. I was always the other Luthor, the one to be ignored. It was when I was a teen when I finally realized that she was not the person I thought her to be. It felt like a punch in the gut; I was lied to, naïve." She closed her eyes and let go of a pained sigh.

I looked down to my half empty mug of coffee. "Y'know Lena, I know what it feels like to be lied to about your parents. Just recently, I found out that my real parents weren't who I thought they were. I always thought of them to be the good guys. To be the ones trying to save the world. But then the truth came and slapped me in the face. It made me feel sick. Made me feel ashamed to be their daughter. I didn't know how to take in the truth because I was so sure that they were doing good. Finally, I realized that you can't run from your name, you can only make yourself stand out and prove that you are not like them. That you are willing to help anyone you can."

We both sat in a sad silence for a few minutes. I reached over and placed my hand on top of Lena's to comfort her. She looked up to me with neglected eyes. Her shoulders dropped slightly.

"H-how did you do it? How did you cope with your parents dying?" She asked, emotion controlling her voice. I swallowed thickly.

Her eyes went wide. "I- I'm sorry Kara. I didn't mean to ask you that. You don't have to answer it." She stood up abruptly. "I should go." Lena added and started to walk over to the door. I went around my island and I grabbed her arm. She stopped and looked at me intently. I pulled her close to me and I wrapped my arms around her. Lena immediately held onto me and I could feel her shaking. I rubbed small circles into her back. After a few minutes, Lena pulled away. Her eyes were misty, but still breathtakingly beautiful.

I lead Lena over to my couch and we both sat down. "The deaths of my parents were hard. Especially right after it happened. I didn't exactly have anyone to go to. It was just me. I didn't know how to process it. It felt as if I fell from a tree. The impact had knocked every wisp of air from my lungs, and I lay there struggling to inhale, to exhale, to do anything." I looked down to my hands, watching my thumb trace the lines on my other palm.

"I had to try to remember how to breathe, to speak, any of the simplest tasks; I was totally stunned as the reality of it all bounced around inside my skull. But then I met the Danvers. They took me in, cared for me, loved me like I was one of their own. I thought that I could never feel love again, but I was wrong. I felt whole again. The hole in my heart seemed to disappear." I smiled reminiscently.

"Was it hard to let them into your life like that?" Lena asked quietly. I shook my head. "No, not really. I mean, at first, I didn't let them near me. They weren't my family. They were strangers and my family was dead. But for some reason, they waited for me to accept them. They didn't push me to love them, to pretend to be a Danvers. And before I knew it, I was no longer pretending. They became my family because I could trust them. I knew that they didn't want to hurt me. You just need to find someone you can trust, and the pain will eventually lessen. It won't disappear completely, but it becomes easier when you can trust others with your pain." I stated and looked into her haunted green eyes.

They stared back at me with such intrigue that butterflies bubbled in my stomach. Suddenly, Lena leaned in and her lips were pressed to mine. Her hand was holding my cheek carefully. I froze for a half a second and my brain sparked with something that I never felt. Before I could do anything, Lena was gone. I blinked and looked down to the spot that she was sitting.  _What was that?_  My heart was racing and I was shaking with excitement. I swallowed thickly. _Did Lena say anything? Why did she leave?_ Finally, the rest of my body loosened up from my shock and I stood up. I ran my hand through my messy hair.  _What the hell just happened?_


	6. Chapter 6

For the next day and a half, I stayed in my apartment. I was too distracted to focus on anything else besides Lena. I could hear my phone going off, but I couldn't answer it. I could also hear my comm trying to reach me, but I knew that I wouldn't be helpful. I didn't want to go out as Supergirl or Kara until my mind was balanced, otherwise I could jeopardize people more than being able to help.

A few hours later, there was a harsh knock on my door. "Kara? Are you in there?" I heard Alex ask with concern in her voice. She didn't wait for me to answer before she spoke again. "I'm going to break down the door if you don't answer it." She stated. "It's open." I answered. Alex rushed in with her gun drawn. As soon as her eyes landed on me, she lowered her gun. "Kara, what the hell?" She asked as she walked over to me.

"You had everyone worried. Why weren't you answering your phone? The comms? We thought that Lex got to you." Alex holstered the gun and sat down next to me. "Kara? Are you okay?" Alex studied my face cautiously. I shrugged. "I don't really know." I answered halfheartedly. "What's wrong?" I shrugged again. "I'm not sure."

"Well what happened?"

I quickly explained to Alex what happened last night after I came back to my apartment. I was getting to the end of my story when Alex smiled knowingly. I stopped. "Why are you smiling at me like that?" I asked worriedly. "Look, sometimes, life doesn't go as planned. You stay in denial and you tell yourself that it's not true. But sometimes, it's better to be truthful to yourself." She stated cryptically. "What are you talking about?" I asked. "The way you talk about Lena, the way you act about her, what you do for her. Is there maybe something you want to say?" She asked.

I looked down to my hands. I knew what I wanted to say, but I was scared beyond belief to say it out loud. I felt like if I were to say it, she would not see me as me. I didn't want Alex to think of me as any different. "Nope." I dismissed. Alex raised her eyebrow, but didn't question it. "Okay, well I just want to say that I happen to have taken a rather big romantic risk recently, and I have to say, it really paid off. I love you no matter what you choose Kara. Don't think that anything will change it. And I'm always here if you need me." Alex tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear and kissed my forehead before standing up. She walked out of my apartment and I still sat on my couch.

My heart was beating fast as I contemplated my actions. I raced out my door. "Alex! Come back, please." I called. Alex rounded the corner and I bit my tongue in nervousness. We walked back into my apartment. She sat on one stool and I leaned on my counter. My hand shook and my heart felt like it was in my throat.

"Before Lena left, she k-kissed me. I was so thrown off, so shocked. I didn't know how to process it. I mean, I liked James and Adam; they were great guys. But Lena, she's just something else. She's-she's- ugh, I don't know. B-but, I think I l-like her. I think I might be b-bi." I clenched my jaw and I looked down at the wood. I couldn't meet her eyes.

Alex reached out and held my hand. "Kara, you don't have to be ashamed of anything. You deserve to be happy. Especially everything that you've been through. You know that I will support you no matter who you like. We're sisters, we need to stand by each other. I will love you no matter what." Alex stated confidently. I timidly looked up to Alex. She smiled at me brightly. My heart raced again, but this time it felt like a million pounds were lifted off my chest. I smiled back at Alex. "Thank you, Alex. But what do I do know? Lena ran out before I could say anything." I stated.

Alex pushed my phone toward me. "You call her and talk about this." I looked down to my phone and I saw a dozen phone calls and texts. Most of them were from Winn, James, Alex, and shockingly Lena. I briefly read through the texts from Winn and James. They mostly were asking where I was. James told me that he had a cover for me at CatCo and Winn was trying to contact me to see where I was. Lena sent a bunch of messages yesterday, but almost no messages today. Most of them read that she was extremely sorry and that she hoped that I would forgive her. As I continued to read them, they got more and more sad and desperate. She was afraid that she ruined our friendship.

I immediately called her phone. I waited as the phone rang, but Lena didn't answer. "Come on, Lena. Answer your phone." I paced back and forth as I called her for the 5th time. I watched as Alex got a call. Her face immediately turned pale. I hung up the phone after this call went to voicemail too. "What's wrong?" I asked Alex.

"There was a 7-car pileup on the freeway. Some idiot purposely crashed into the others. They really need your help. People are still trapped and one car was a gasoline rig and it spilled all over the road. They are afraid that there will be a fire so they can't use any equipment to get the injured people out." She stated. I rushed over and changed into my suit. I placed the comm into my ear and took off. I landed down and I could smell the oil and burnt rubber. My stomach clenched as I looked at all the twisted metal. None of these hunks of metal even resembled cars anymore. "Supergirl!" I heard multiple people cry out. I used my freeze breath to lower the risk of the gas lighting on fire. I scanned the scene for people with the worst injuries. I pulled the door off a sedan and carried a woman who was bleeding out to the medics, who were waiting safely by. I continued to pull people out of their cars and back to safety. I was almost done when I heard someone groan.

I scanned the scene again and I saw a car that was laced with lead. I ran over and pulled off the door. My heart dropped. Lena was in the back seat. Blood gushed down her head and her wrist was bent at a wrong angle. "Lena!" I crawled inside the car. "Hey, can you hear me?" I asked. She stayed silent. I gently pulled the broken front seat off her thighs and I threw it out of the car. I put one arm under her knees and the other behind her shoulders. "It's okay Lena, I got you." I carefully flew her to the medics.

They quickly loaded her up into the ambulance. I stopped the EMT as he was about to get into the back. "Which hospital are you going to?" I asked. "They are all going to St. Elizabeth's." He stated. I turned back to the pile up and scanned the rest of the scene. I couldn't find any more people. I walked over to the police and hazmat chiefs. "I don't see anyone else. The site is clear of injures." I stated. "Thank you, Supergirl." The officer stated. "Who caused the accident?" I asked. "Some John Doe. He hijacked a car with some people inside and then crashed it here." He answered. "Where is he?" I asked, anger bubbling up in my stomach. The officer looked down. "He passed away shortly after we arrived here."

The anger disappeared. "Oh. And the others who were in the car?" I asked. "They are in critical condition, but still alive for now." I breathed and jumped back into the sky. "Winn, any information on the John Doe?" I asked in my comms.  _No, nothing. I've tried everything. It seems that he appeared out of nowhere._ "Keep looking."  _I will. Where are you going?_ "To the hospital, I was thinking maybe someone knew him. Or maybe they could give me some clues." I stated. It wasn't technically all a lie. There could be people to help me, but I mostly wanted to see Lena.

I landed down at my apartment and quickly packed some regular clothes. I flew into the hospital and walked to the receptionist in my suit. "Where are the patients from the pile up?" I asked. "Most of them are on the 4th floor, but a few are in the ICU." The receptionist stated.

"Who are in the ICU?"

"M. Franken, J. White, and A. Bayes." He reported. "Thank you." I quickly changed into my regular clothes and made my way up to the 4th floor. There, I saw Lena laying on a bed with her eyes closed. I started to walk in, but a doctor walked over to me. "I'm sorry miss, but you can't be in there." She stated. "No, please, I have to be here. Lena's hurt." I stated. "What's your name?" She asked. "Kara Danvers. Please, you have to let me in." I pleaded.

"Stay here for a second." She walked off. I started at Lena's still body. The doctor came back a few seconds later. "Come on Miss Danvers." She led the way into Lena's room. "Huh?"

"You were on her emergency contact and is listed as family. Now, Lena has suffered from a broken right hand, a few superficial lacerations to her face and torso from glass, and a mild concussion. Considering the accident that she was in, she was very lucky. Her injuries could've been much worse. We have her on some medication to lessen the pain and she's just resting right now." The doctor stated. "Thank you." I said and sat down by Lena's side.

Little cuts and bruises littered her face. I gently grabbed her left hand and stroked her knuckles. Her eyelashes flickered and a few seconds later, she was looking at me. "Hey Lena. How are you feeling?" I asked quietly. "Ugh, Kara? W-what happened?" She asked. "You were in a car accident. Some idiot caused this huge pile up." I answered. She went to sit up and she tried to use her right hand to help her up. She cried out in pain. "Hey, easy, you broke your wrist, along with having a concussion." I stated.

She looked away from me. "What are you doing here?" She asked. I furrowed my eyebrows. "What do you mean? You got hurt and I was worried." I answered. "I figured that you would be angry at me." She stated. "I would never be angry at you Lena. Why would you think that?"

"Because of what I did. I ruined our friendship. I'm so sorry." She apologized. "Who said anything about ruining our friendship?" I asked lightly. Her eyes shot over to mine. "What?" She sounded surprised. "You ran out so quickly, I didn't even get to talk to you about what happened. But I think I got my mind all figured out now." I said. "You do?" She asked. I nodded "Yes." I leaned over and kissed Lena gently.

After a few seconds, I pulled away. Lena smiled and I smiled back at her. "Still think you ruined our friendship?" I teased. "Not in the slightest." She stated and pulled me back to her lips. Happiness swam throughout my entire body. I pulled away again. "I take it you'd want to go out for some drinks soon?" I asked. She laughed. "That sounds good. Like I said, you'll have to prove that you can drink, because I can't believe it." She stated. Her smile fell. "What's wrong?" I asked. "How are we going to do this?"

"Huh?"

"You realize that if we're together, that you'll have to deal with the Luthor drama, right? The press, the media, everything." She stated. "I think that is a fair trade off. I get to be with you." I smiled at her. She laughed. "It won't be easy." Lena stated. "I know that. No relationship is. But as long as I have you, I'll be okay. Besides, I'm a part of the media. I know how to handle it." I snaked my hand into hers. She squeezed it gently. "Thank you, Kara. I don't know how to repay you for your help yesterday." She said. "You don't need to repay me, Lena. I told you that I will always be there for you." I leaned back down and kissed her again gently. She held onto me as she leaned into the kiss.


	7. Chapter 7

The next day, Lena was released from the hospital. I sat by her side in the L Corp company car. Despite Lena and I being on the same page with our feelings, the ride was awkward. We sat close enough together, but there was still a gap between us. I tried to think of something to say, but nothing came to mind. I looked down to my hands and suddenly Lena snaked her fingers into mine. I looked up to her and she looked back at me with a smirk on her face. "Thank you so much Kara." She stated. I smiled back at her. "There is nothing for you to be thanking me for, Lena. All I did was show up to the hospital."

She shook her head. "No, I don't mean that. I mean staying by my side, supporting me while everyone else immediately branded me with my evil name. You were the only one I could trust." Lena pointed out. "I knew that you weren't like the rest of your family. I knew that you had a good heart, and there were no reasons to believe that you suddenly turned from everything that you tried to build away from your Luthor name." I squeezed her hand gently.

I heard my phone go off and I didn't look at it; I knew it was either Alex or the DEO. I wanted to spend my time with Lena. It went off again and I wanted to ignore it, but Lena looked toward the lit-up screen. "Aren't you going to answer it?" She asked. I nodded slowly and reached out for my phone.

"Hello?"  _Kara, where are you? Snapper is about 5 seconds from firing you. He needs that article right now._ "James, can you stall him for just a few minutes?"  _Of course. Where are you?_ "I'm getting back from the hospital with Lena."  _How is she doing?_ "She's better now." James sighed.  _Kara, if you can just email the article to me I'll print it and give it to Snapper._ "Really?"  _Of course, Kara. I've got your back._ "Thanks James. I'll get it done as soon as possible."  _Hurry._

I hung up and looked at Lena. "Trouble?" She asked. "Yeah, unfortunately." I stopped short. "Okay, don't worry. We already made it back to your apartment." She stated. "Huh?" I looked out the window and saw my apartment building. Lena smiled at me. "I figured that your boss would give you a hard time for not showing up to work. I've heard that Snapper Carr isn't the nicest person in the world."

I smiled. "That's putting it lightly. Thank you, Lena." I paused awkwardly. Was I supposed to just get out and leave? Should I kiss her goodbye? Tell her I'll call her later? What? My mind rolled through questions. My questions were answered by Lena's lips. "Go. I'll see you later, okay?" I nodded idiotically and got out of the car.

The next few months went by uneventfully. It made me even more paranoid and relaxed at the same time. I got all the time in the world to spend with Lena, but there was no news about Lex. He never showed up or stirred anything in National City. I got a few months to live as Kara Danvers, and as Supergirl, with no threats or plots against anyone I cared about. Eventually, with a lot of coaxing from Maggie and Alex, I broke the news to James, Winn, J'onn, and everyone else that Lena and I were dating. Despite all my fears, they took it all surprisingly well. Even Mon-El took it well, despite his feelings for me.

* * *

I was sitting at my table typing away on a new article when my phone went off.  _Kara, we need you at the DEO_. "Right now, Winn?"  _Yes, right now. Remember that there were a few aliens that have been unaccounted for since you lifted Fort R'ozz into space? We just got a ping on the satellites. They are making their way to National City right now._  "Okay, I'll be there soon." I rushed off to the DEO. I landed down and jogged over to J'onn and the others. "I'm here. Where are the aliens headed?" I asked. "We're not sure yet. It seems that they could be going to a few different areas. The docks, the industrial district, or downtown. It's just a guessing game right now." Winn stated. "Show me where they are and I'll stop them before they arrive." I stated. Alex and J'onn exchanged a look, but I didn't pay attention to it. Winn gave me their location and I raced off to intercept the aliens.

I saw their reinforced car racing down the side streets. I landed down on the roof and I heard grunts from inside the car. The window on the passenger side opened and one alien stuck his head out. He snarled at me as his white eyes narrowed at me. "It's Supergirl! She found us!" He shouted to the others.

The car suddenly jerked from side to side aggressively. I fell to my knees and held on to the sides of the roof. "She's still there!" The drive slammed on the breaks and I flipped over onto the windshield, and shattered it. I slid down onto the hood of the car and dug into the sides of the fenders to keep myself from being run over. For a half a second, I looked into the car and saw 4 aliens staring back at me.

An alien in the back aimed an odd-looking gun at me. Before I could do anything, the gun was fired and I flew off the hood by the force of the gun. I smashed into a dumpster and lost my breath. J'onn's voice echoed in my ear.  _Supergirl, are you okay?_ "Yeah-fine. Just lost my breath." I wheezed.  _Be careful, we don't know what technology they have with them._  "Powerful tech." I panted.  _Can you identify the aliens?_  Winn asked.

I finally regained my breath and I jumped back into the sky to chase the aliens. "A Phryne, a Sowklen, an Ag'an, and I think I saw a Cruid in the very back."  _Kara, you need to be exceedingly careful with the Cruid and Ag'an. The Cruid is extremely venomous. If his venom gets into your bloodstream, then you're in some serious trouble. And the Ag'an spits a paralytic acid that'll incapacitate you and possibly destroy your nervous system. So-_  I cut Alex off. "Try to avoid them at all costs otherwise its game over, got it."

I found the car again and I landed down in front of its path. The car crashed into me and the Sowklen flew out from the passenger's seat and onto the concrete. I cringed as I saw the white blood gush out from underneath its body. The Phryne roared in anger as the Cruid and Ag'an pulled themselves out of the wrecked car. "Daughter of Alura! You will pay for your parents' actions!" The Ag'an spoke through its heavy and hallow accent. "I am  _not_ responsible for my parents!" I yelled as he charged at me. I jumped into the sky, but the Cruid's claws grabbed my ankle. The claw ripped into my boot and cut my skin.

He slammed me down onto the concrete. I gasped in pain and watched as the Phryne pushed open the driver's door. It smashed into the wall next to it. I pulled myself up off the ground and dodged some acid from the Ag'an. The Cruid slashed widely and I had to dodge another strike.  _"I imagine that your blood tastes as sweet as those soldiers' blood."_  The Cruid spoke in Kryptonian.  _"What are you talking about?"_

The Cruid made some otherworldly sound that I only could imagine as laughter.  _"You don't know? You Kryptonians sent your soldiers to demolish and conquer my world, Tegaik Lia. Your kind tried to enslave us. It only turned out to be a slaughter for your armies and resources."_  Shock hit me as hard as the pulse did from the gun the Phryne was holding.

I went flying back into the wall. I smelled iron and there was an odd sensation in my nose. I felt something drip in the back of my throat and I went to clear it. Suddenly, I tasted blood and I spat it out on the ground. I wiped the blood that gushed from my nose and the small amount that escaped from my lips. The Ag'an laughed and the Cruid inhaled heavily. " _Ooh yes, I can smell your blood from here and I know it'll be as sweet as I remember."_  The Cruid purred. I pulled myself out of the wall and the three aliens became an embodiment of chaos.

I had to dodge every attack from the Cruid as some questionable liquid dripped down from its many rows of yellow teeth onto its pale pink skin and claws. The Ag'an continued to try and hit me with its acid while also swiping its lanky blue arms at me. The Phryne had an arsenal of weapons with him and he knew how to use them well.  _Alpha Team will be there soon Kara._  "No." I kicked the Ag'an back and used my momentum to strike the Phryne before he could fire one of his smaller weapons.

"I don't want anyone else in danger. Stay there. I got this." I added on. I was distracted for a second and the Cruid got a good hit on my stomach. I coughed and rolled under the Ag'an's bladed feet. I felt my cape rip in half as its foot caught in the middle of the fabric and down to the end _. Kara, you can't last much longer against these aliens on your own._  "No, Alex, I can't risk you being here, or any other DEO agents. I got this." I repeated forcefully.  _Kara-_  I stopped focusing on what Alex was saying as I almost got hit with the acid. I used my heat vision to stun the charging Cruid. It roared in pain and stumbled back. Seconds later, Mon-El landed down next to me. "What the hell, Mon-El?"

"I thought you could use some other alien's help."

"Watch out!" I tackled him behind a low wall as he almost got hit with the acid. "No, it looks like you need mine. Stay out of the way. I don't want anyone hurt." I rushed back into the fight.

I ducked under the Cruid's mighty swing and the Ag'an's spit. The acid flew over my head and hit the Phryne dead on. He crumpled to the ground in a heap, but not without firing a shot at me. The yellow energy hit my chest and I stumbled back, a strange feeling radiating through my chest. I smelled burnt rubber and I coughed as the suit smoldered. "Does that include you?" Mon-El questioned as he emerged from behind the wall.

The Cruid smelled the air again and spoke.  _"Daxamite? I haven't tasted your kind before. Will your blood taste the same as your Kryptonian girlfriend?"_  It taunted.  _"He is not my boyfriend."_  I defended and landed a solid punch to its chest. The Cruid went flying backwards into a wall. The Ag'an looked over to the Cruid and then at me. It bared its small, sharp black teeth. "I know when this fight is over, I'll be seeing you around, Daughter of Alura." It went to jump away, but I reached out and slammed it back down on the concrete. "You're not going anywhere but the DEO." The Ag'an hissed at me and dug its nails into the sleeve of my suit and then forearm. Blood beaded around its fingers, but then it was ripped off me. Mon-El started to fight the Ag'an. I looked over and saw the Phryne stirring, and looking like it was going to escape.

The Ag'an was knocked unconscious, and the Phryne started to run by Mon-El. "Mon-El, get him!" I called and was tackled by something. I realized that the Cruid finally woke up and it was angrier than ever.

It tried to slash apart my chest, but I kicked it off me and back into another wall. I jumped up. "Supergirl!" Mon-El called. I glanced over and saw that his attention was no longer on the escaping Phryne, but me. "Stop the Phryne! I'm fi-" A hot searing pain ripped through my leg.

I looked down to see that the Cruid had bit my thigh in a last attempt to win the fight. Blood gushed out of my leg and mixed with the Cruid venom, which made my blood literally bubble. I grimaced and grabbed the Cruid by its neck. I could hear people yelling through my comms and Mon-El calling out to me, but for some reason anger controlled my body. I threw the Cruid against the car. It smashed down with a crunch and I fell to my knees. I watched as the Cruid's yellow blood leaked down from the car onto the ground and under the car.

I fell onto my back as my thigh went completely numb and it started to twitch and tingle. My heart was pounding against my ribs and my head felt like it was under water. I tried to swallow my fear, but my throat was stuffed with cotton. I could hear the commotion at the DEO as I laid on the ground.  _Supergirl is down!_  Mon-El reported into the comms.  _What? What happened to her?_  Alex asked worriedly.

"She was bit by the Cruid." I heard a delay in the comms as Mon-El finally got to my side.


	8. Chapter 8

"Kara, Kara? Can you hear me?" Mon-El turned his focus on my leg. My stomach turned unnaturally and I felt like I was drowning in spit. I coughed and gagged, but I couldn't breathe. "Shit, Alex what do I do? Her mouth is foaming! Shit, shit!"  _Mon-El, calm down! It's going to be fine! Turn her on her side, now! She needs to be able to breathe._ Alex instructed, her voice tight and commanding. My eyes watered and the world became blurry.

I was pulled over onto my right side. I groaned as pain shot through my entire left side. "How far away is that med evac?" Panic was controlling Mon-El's voice. Precious air filled my lungs and that burning went away, before it was overtaken by the burning that originated at my thigh.  _They're already halfway to the city. ETA 10 minutes._ Winn reported.

"That's not quick enough. I can get her to the med bay quicker!" He argued.  _No! Don't move her! The venom is localized right now and any serious movements could aid its spread to her heart and head._  Winn stated. "They better hurry. She's not looking good at all." Mon-El deadpanned. I coughed and spat out the bloody spit. "T-ry lookin' at yorsel'." I stated as my vision cleared up slightly. He was covered in the other aliens' blood and scrapes from the asphalt. My chest tightened and I wheezed. "Kara? Oh Rao, just hold on, it'll be okay. The DEO is on its way."

He held my head gently. My body started to twitch and jerk as it felt like knives were being stabbed throughout my body. "Damn it, hurry up! She's convulsing!" He cried into the comms. Suddenly, I saw two Mon-El's in front of me. I blinked multiple times hoping to fix my vision, but instead it got worse. Then, everything started to fade out. Lines weren't as crisp and the double Mon-el turned into a grey blur. I grimaced as another wave of pain raced through my body and I blacked out shortly after that.

I woke up some time later to muffled noises. My world was still black, but it felt like it was on fire. My body was heavy and felt like ice. Breathing was difficult and it felt like someone had their hands around my neck. My head pounded and I only recognized a few words as they came to me in choppy waves.

"…no antivenom…"

"…either a cytotoxin…or neurotoxin…"

"…compartment syndrome...amputation…"

My eyes opened weakly and I could see a few blurs in the corner. There was a burning in my stomach as I tried to stay awake. The burning got more intense until I felt bile rise up in my throat. I gasped and my body lurched forward. I looked down and saw some mysterious black liquid come out of my mouth. I went to wipe it up with my hand, but it burned my skin. I cried out and the blurs rushed to my side. Exhaustion clawed into my body and dragged me back into unconsciousness. My head swam in nauseating circles. I felt like I was floating through the darkness, well, more like trudging through syrup, but same thing. Finally, the syrup thinned to deep water and I slowly came to. My head pounded and my heart hammered at my ribs again. I grimaced as pain reminded me that I was alive. I opened my eyes and saw Alex asleep on the med bay bed next to me. "Al-" I tried, but my throat was still stuffed with cotton. I took in a deep breath and tried again. "Alex." I called hoarsely. She stirred and stretched tiredly. Her eyes opened slowly and they landed on me.

Alex instantly jumped off the bed and ran to my side. "Kara, hey, hey. How are you feeling?" She grabbed my hand. "Water." I asked shortly. She reached over and handed me a glass. I gratefully drank it. Her brown eyes watched me intently. "What happened?" I asked after I soothed my throat. "The Cruid bit you." She answered.

"Yeah, I know. But after. Last thing I remember was Mon-El by my side."

"The med evac picked you up and rushed you back here. We tried to stop the poison progressing through your body, because it could bind to tissues and cause serious circulation problems, but we didn't have any antivenom that would stop it. We did all we could to slow its progression, but all we could do was administer morphine, take blood samples, and ultrasound your leg to make sure the blood vessels hadn't died and that blood was still flowing to your entire leg." She informed me.

"How bad was it?" I asked, partially not wanting to know the answer. Alex hesitated. "It was really bad. The venom- it interfered with your blood's ability to clot, so your leg was constantly bleeding. We were lucky that we had your extra blood stored for instances like this otherwise you would've-"

She paused. "You would've bled out." The room fell into a sullen silence. Those fragmented words came back to me. "Compartment syndrome…amputation…" I trailed off as my stomach turned again.

Alex's eyes didn't meet mine. "After we slowed your bleeding, we thought it would get better. But we were wrong. We- we were worried that we were going to lose you. The venom was killing the tissue in your leg faster than you could heal, and the venom was spreading fast. The idea was suggested to- to-" She couldn't finish the sentence.

"The venom started to bind to your blood and you were throwing it up. You were struggling to breathe so we had to sedate you." She looked to the floor. I placed my hand on her shoulder and she bit her lip. Finally, her eyes met mine. Tears were on the verge of falling. "But then, something happened. Your blood finally started to clot, the venom stopped spreading. Everything just…stopped. The discoloration stopped and it seemed that you were healing naturally. We've been monitoring you ever since."

Pain throbbed throughout my body. "What about my powers?" Alex's eyes raised up the lamps around me. They gave off a red glow. "Red sun lamps."

She nodded. "Yeah, Winn made these." I raised my eyebrow. "Why take away my powers? Wouldn't they help me heal?"

"Dr. Hamilton thought that too until she realized that having your powers was just putting more stress on your body. Your powers were trying to heal you, but it wasn't quick enough and you started to burn up. We just set them high enough so that your body wouldn't be trying to overcompensate and the rest of your body would overheat and crash. So, right now, you're between being human and Kryptonian."

I glanced down to my hands briefly. "How-how long have I been out?" I asked. "3 days." She answered. Dread filled my chest. "Lena." I breathed. "It's okay." She stated. I shook my head. "No, it's not. I was supposed to meet up with her yesterday. How am I supposed to tell her about this?" Alex shook her head. "You don't have to do anything."

I raised my eyebrow. Alex showed me my phone. I saw a million messages and calls from Lena. "I saw all the messages. She's here." My eyes shot up. "What? How?" Alex smiled at me. "I have to keep some of my tricks secret." Alex stated slyly. I rolled my eyes. "Sure, Alex." I laughed lightly and she smiled. "Hey, I can keep secrets way better than you can." Alex pointed out. "Okay, I think we all know that."

I smiled back at her. We sat in silence for a second. I watched as Lena walked over to the door with her head down. As she walked to the door, she glanced over and spotted me. She stopped walking immediately and stared at me. For a quick glance, she looked fine, but then I saw everything. I saw a few hairs that were always in place, out of place; I noticed the lack of color in the clothes she was wearing, and the preciseness of her usually perfectly tied shoes were gone. Alex squeezed my hand and stood up. "I'll talk to you later." She stated. Alex and Lena passed by each other with a quick glance.

Lena stood next to me silently. Her eyes held something that hurt me to look at. "You promised." She stated with an upset voice. A lump formed in my throat. One second passed. Two seconds passed. Three seconds passed. Guilt ate and pestered me. A fire burned in my mind and throat. Remorse hit me like a sledgehammer.  _Please don't lie to me again. I'm tired of everyone hiding things from me. I'm tired of being left in the dark about everything._

Tears made her eyes sparkle dangerously. "You  _promised."_  Her voice broke. My shoulders dropped. "Lena-" I started, but there was no way to start an apology. "Y'know, at first, I didn't say anything. As soon as you walked into my office with Clark, I knew. We became friends and I couldn't believe it. That this shy and sunny Kara Danvers and the confident and powerful Supergirl were the same person. I didn't say anything because I was waiting for  _you_ to tell me." Lena took in a large breath.

She smiled at me with tears starting to run down her face and pain written on her face. "I have to admit, it was funny watching you try to cover your ass. All your hilariously lame excuses and sudden leaves of absences. It was so blatant, so obvious. How the people around you don't notice it I will never know." Her smile disappeared. "It made sense why you wouldn't tell me. We weren't friends, you didn't know me, I wasn't your family. I had no business knowing. And as we did get closer, you telling me would've put me in danger as well as Kara Danvers." She stated and her voice dropped off.

"Lena, I always wanted to-" She held up her hand. "And then the best thing happened. I finally got  _you_. I got the person who always stood by my side, protected me, even when the times were tough. You even put Supergirl on my side, for some reason I couldn't understand, no matter how much I thought about it."

I tried to speak again. "Lena, please-" Her green eyes stared harshly at me and I watched as another tear ran down her cheek. "I am not mad at you for keeping Supergirl a secret. I understand why you did what you did." Her eyes hardened and her voice raised. "But why,  _why in hell_ , did you not tell me? Were you ever planning on telling me? Or was I going to find out when Kara never showed up again. When Supergirl never showed up again. Was I going to get confirmation only after I saw you on a metal slab? Or maybe laying in a coffin. Do you know how terrifying it was to get a phone call from a restricted number telling me to come here?" Regret washed over me like the long slow waves on a shallow beach. Each wave was icy cold and sent shivers down my spine. I longed to go back and take a different path, but now that was impossible. There was no way back. There was no way to make it right. The remorse would eat at me every day of my life.

"Lena, there is no way to make this up to you. B-but I'm- I'm sorry. And of course I was going to tell you." I defended. "Okay.  _When?"_  She crossed her arms and spoke before I could. "Between a time where you were pretending to be a regular woman who was a reporter or when you were this hero laying in a med bay, venom coursing through your veins. With me trying to analyze the venom with your adoptive sister in a secret government facility that doesn't exist as you slowly were poisoned and bleeding out." Tears were flowing freely down her face. I grimaced as guilt ate at my stomach as and my leg twinged in pain.

My brain felt like it was working only at 50%. I took an extra few seconds as I tried to string together any coherent thought. "Lena, I always wanted to tell you. But for all of my life, I was told to keep the real me hidden. I had to do that in order to keep everyone I loved, safe." My head pounded mercilessly. "I was supposed to  _lie_  to save those I  _loved_. What type of messed up thinking is that? How is that fair, to me or to anyone I love?" I paused for a second as I thought again. "And it hurt, to suppress my actual identity. To deny my original life and create another. I will never get to live a normal life, ever." I swallowed hard.

 _"_ _Rao,_ even my life's purpose on Earth was ruined. So, I had to make a new one. So yes, I lied to you and I hate myself every day for it." I slammed my head down on my pillow and closed my eyes before any tears could escape. Lena was silent for too long and I expected her to be gone. I opened my eyes and saw Lena still standing there. But her frigid composure was gone.

"You-you love me?" She stuttered. This was the first time that I've ever seen her not as the confident and strong person that she is every day. She looked so vulnerable and innocent as her tearstained face peered at me. I opened my mouth, but I was interrupted by the door opening and Dr. Hamilton's assistant came rushing in loudly. "I'm sorry Miss Luthor, but I need you to leave right now." The assistant broke into our discussion.

Lena looked directly into my eyes. "That's fine. I was just going anyway." She turned around to leave. "No, Lena. Please, don't go." I begged as Lena started to leave. I looked back to the assistant. "Please, just give us a few more minutes."

"I'm sorry, Miss Danvers. You're on a tight schedule for vital checks and I'm a bit behind. Dr. Hamilton has ordered a long list of tests to make sure you won't relapse."

Lena's hair whipped around the corner and out of the med bay. "No, it can wait." I dismissed the assistant. I pulled myself out of the bed and my body ached. I swallowed the nausea that swirled in my stomach. My vision went dark for a second and the world spun as blood rushed to my head.

"Lena!" I called after her. My leg couldn't hold my weight up and I collapsed to the ground. I cried out in pain as my leg and heart stung. "Lena." I whimpered. The assistant rushed over to my side. "Miss Danvers!" He exclaimed. He helped me back onto the bed. I fell into silence and stared up at the ceiling as he collected blood from my arm. As he was drawing the blood, I saw his eyes glance to mine. "I'm really sorry Miss Danvers. I tried to give you all the time with Miss Luthor that I could, but Dr. Hamilton was demanding." He apologized. "It's okay. I know that it wasn't your fault."

He walked over to my left and paused by my hip. "I-uh- need to check your dressings, if you don't mind that  _I_  do it." His face flushed slightly as he looked down to my side. "Yeah." He pulled back the dressings and I looked down to my thigh.

The tissue around the bite mark looked blue, almost black. I could see where the Cruid's venom burned into my skin. I stared at the dark tendrils that looked like they crept up to my hip and down to my knee. I looked away as the sight made me want to throw up again.

The assistant put the vial of blood down and looked at the charts that were sitting by my side. His eyes scanned down the page and he flipped to the next. I saw that he was reading the EKG charts. "How is your chest feeling? Is it tight? Is your heart pounding against your ribs? Does it feel like its skipping a beat?" He asked. "No, it feels fine." I answered quietly. He placed down the charts and grabbed the vial of blood.

The assistant delivered the blood to Dr. Hamilton and returned shortly after that. He did an ultrasound on my leg to make sure that my blood vessels were still open and that my tissue surround the wound wasn't dying. He also ran a few other tests to make sure that my motor functions were still strong. It turned out that everything was fine. Dr. Hamilton walked in a few minutes after that. "Kara, how are you feeling?"

A surge of anger rushed through my body as I looked at Dr. Hamilton. Those tests could've waited a few more minutes. I took a breath and the anger disappeared. "Fine." Dr. Hamilton looked at me for a second longer before glancing down to my charts. "All your hormones look fine. Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary, except for your liver enzymes. They tested a little high, but overall you seem to be recovering fine." Dr. Hamilton looked over to the assistant. "Her motor skills?"

"Top shape. I couldn't find anything wrong." He answered. Dr. Hamilton looked back to me. "The venom the Cruid has is a mix between a cytotoxin, which attacks your blood cells, and a neurotoxin, which attacks your nervous system. Its properties gave it the ability to attach to your blood cells and cause them to stop carrying oxygen to your cells, among other things. It seemed to then start to go after your nervous system, but for some unknown reason, the venom stopped affecting you. Now, we're going to keep you here for another 24 hours to make sure that you won't relapse, but besides the discoloration and weakness in your leg, you should be fine soon." Dr. Hamilton explained.

"What about my powers? Are any of them affected by the venom?" I asked. "No, not that we could see. But there is only one way to find out. Tell me immediately if anything starts to hurt." Dr. Hamilton gestured to the assistant, who turned off the red sun lamps and turned on the yellow ones.

Immediately, I could feel strength returning to my body. The fog in my head cleared slightly. I glanced down to my leg and saw the darkness start to recede. I moved my foot around as the pain lessened. "Kara?" Dr. Hamilton looked at me with intrigue. "Nothing. The lamps feel great." I answered. "Good. I'll be analyzing the venom with Alex in her lab." Dr. Hamilton left and the assistant followed shortly after.

I sat in silence for a few minutes until I saw a glimpse of red and blue. Kal smiled at me sadly and strode over to my side. "Hey Kara, how are you feeling?" He asked. "Better now." I answered. He sat down and a frown made its way onto his face. "I'm so sorry that I wasn't there." He stated. I shook my head. "It's okay Kal. I'm fine. Besides, I should be able to handle these things on my own." I stated. His eyes pierced mine. "I know, but I still should have known."

"There was no way to know, Kal. It's okay. I'm fine now." I smiled at him. He frowned deeper, but said nothing. "So, are you cleared to leave yet?" He asked. "No, Dr. Hamilton is monitoring me to make sure that I don't relapse. But it's only for 24 hours." I answered. I raised my eyebrow as I noticed that something was off with him. "Why?" I added on. "I need to talk with you, but somewhere more private." He stated. "Well, I can't go anywhere yet. You can just tell me here."

He looked over his shoulder. "There was a way to know about this, Kara. I was warned. This wasn't just some aliens that decided to band together." He stated in a low voice. "What?" He scooted closer. "Lex contacted me. Well, he left me a letter at the Daily Planet a few days ago. He taunted me and left a cryptic message. I didn't understand it fully until Alex called me and told me what happened. Lex planned this. He's coming after you." Kal warned. My eyes widened. "That's how the Phryne had that tech. Lex must've given it to him." I thought out loud. Kal agreed. "Exactly, they were supposed to get caught."


	9. Chapter 9

Kal grabbed my hand. "Now do you get it, Kara? Lex is dangerous. All the Luthors are. This is why I didn't want you being Lena's friend, this is why I didn't want you around her. Lex knows who you are, and he will do anything to do what he thinks is 'protecting' for Lena. He doesn't want you influencing her." Kal advised. "Influencing her?" I repeated and anger bubbled up in my stomach. "They are  _Luthors_ , Kara. They can't be trusted. Please you have to listen to me."

I pulled my hand away from him and glared at Kal. "No, Kal. You are blinded by your mistakes and actions. Lena is  _not_  like the rest of her family." I defended. "And how would you know?" He shot back. "Because I've been  _dating_  Lena!" I finally confessed. Kal's face dropped. "What?" He was completely shocked. "I've been dating Lena for the past few months. Everyone important in my life knows that we've been dating. Except you. That shows how much you actually 'care' for your cousin. I try to contact you, or Lois, to make sure that you are alright, but I get no response. The only way I know you are safe is on the news. And you only come here in emergencies. Never to visit."

Kal looked away from me. "I'll admit it Kara. I should be there for you more often, you're right. And I'm sorry. I just didn't want to overshadow you with me being here. I was trying to do what was best for you, and for Supergirl. And that is what I'm trying to do now. So, please listen to me Kara. I can't lose you too. You're the last bit of my family I have from Krypton." He pleaded.

I shook my head. "I don't care if you 'overshadow' me Kal. There could never be a way that I would hate you for it. It's your life that you successfully built on Earth, you should be proud of it. All I want is you to be my cousin, my family. Not Clark or Superman, but Kal-El, my little cousin." Kal went to interrupt, but I stopped him.

I took in a sharp breath. "And you may think that you are older than me on Earth, that you hold some authority over me, but you  _don't_  Kal. You don't know who I am, you don't get to say what I can and can't do. You gave up that right the second you dumped me on the Danvers' porch." I paused and swallowed the vicious anger that was rising to my mouth.

"And don't you  _dare_  bring up Krypton like your 'get out of jail' card with me. You have no clue what it was like to  _live_  there. Yes, you may have read about the rituals we had, the traditions we kept from the Fortress, but you never got to experience it.  _Any of it_." The words flew from my mouth that I never thought I'd even think, let alone say out loud. I knew instantly from the look in his eyes that they'd hit their mark. He clenched his jaw.

Kal stood up and avoided my eyes. "I'm truly am sorry for angering you Kara. That was never my intention. I just wanted to protect you from the same mistakes." He turned back to the door and all anger vanished from my body as quick as it came. I grabbed onto his hand.

"Wait Kal. Don't go. That was wrong of me." He looked down to my hand, but not my eyes. I took it as my opportunity to apologize. "I'm tired of getting people angry with me and walking out that Rao forsaken door." I started. I took a shaky breath. "I know you didn't come here to make me mad. I know that you are trying to look out for me." I released a quick breath. "But I'm not that same girl you found in the pod. I know how to take care of myself. I know how to make the right calls and have good judgment. But the way that you are saying all of this, it hurts me. It makes it sound like you can't trust me or my decisions."

Kal sat back down and finally met my eyes again. "Of course I trust you Kara. Its just- I can't afford you to be hurt by them. Lex and I were best friends. He was a good guy, until he found out that I was Superman. He became crazy, thinking that we could change the world and save it from ourselves. He slowly fell into the darkness and there was nothing I could do about it. And now, whenever his name is brought up, people spit it out as if it's a bad word. Like It's poison. I knew him before all of this, and I caused him to be villainized. Now he's coming after you. I'm afraid that he'll try and persuade Lena too. All I'm trying to do is protect you. I don't want you to hurt the same way I did when he was condemned to his life sentences. But you're right, I don't know Lena, and I shouldn't be so quick to judge." He elaborated. "There is only one thing for you to do." I could see the hurt that was deep in his eyes. "What?" I asked.

"Be careful. I don't know how much you told her, or how much she knows, but be careful. Please, that's all I ask. I can't afford you to go through the hell I went through." He stated softly. I nodded. "I will Kal." He gave me a small smile before kissing my forehead. "Thank you, Kara. And feel better." He stated and went to leave. "Kal." I called again. He turned around. "Yes?"

"Be careful too. Okay? I don't need to be saving your ass from Lex. And take care of Lois and the others."

He gave me a larger smile before a small laugh escaped his lips. "Of course Kara. But only if you do the same." I smiled back at him. "El Mayarah." Kal took in a prideful breath. "El Mayarah." He repeated and left the room. Some weight lifted off my chest as Kal and I were finally on the same page and that he knew that Lena and I were together.

The next 21 hours went by uneventfully as Dr. Hamilton administered more tests to make sure that I was okay. After hour 23, Dr. Hamilton and Alex deemed it safe for me to leave the DEO. I started to shakily walk out of the med bay when Alex came over to me. "Hey Kara, I'm heading back to my apartment and I know that you haven't eaten for a while. Maggie and I were going to make some homemade pizza and order some pot stickers. You in?" She invited.

"As tempting as that sounds, Alex. There is something that I need to take care of." I stated. Her small smile dropped. "Lena?" Alex guessed. "Yeah. I don't know how to fix any of this."

Alex placed her hand on my shoulder. "Just go talk to her. Explain it to Lena." Alex started, but I shook my head. "There isn't any explaining to be done. The truth is that I lied to Lena after I gave her a promise. There is no coming back from breaking trust." I stopped before my voice cracked. Alex squeezed my shoulder. "Go. It'll be okay. And the offer still stands for dinner. Okay? Love you." She kissed my forehead and walked back out of the med bay. "Love you too." I added softly before she was out of earshot.

I made it out of the DEO and back into National City. I walked through the lobby of L Corp and I was headed up to Lena's office through the elevator. I pushed the button and the elevator roared to life. I stepped in and my heart pounded as the number rose on the illuminated wall. The elevator dinged and I stepped out. I saw Jess sitting at her desk, along with 2 very strong looking men standing guard. I smiled at Jess and walked over to Lena's office door. The two men stepped in my way. I looked over to Jess.

"I'm sorry Miss Danvers, but Miss Luthor told me not to allow anyone in her office. Not even you. She said she is very busy taking care of some business right now." Jess announced. "Please Jess, you need to make an exception. This is urgent." Jess shook her head. "I can't Miss Danvers. She said that this was very personal and private. She will not see anyone." I glanced over to the guards standing there and staring at me, trying to intimidate me. I sighed. "Okay. But can you tell her as soon as you can that I came by? And that I really need to speak with her."

Jess nodded. "Of course Miss Danvers." She stated. "Thank you, Jess. Have a nice day." I said a little too unenthusiastically. "You too." Jess added before I walked back to the elevator. I went out to the alley and changed into my suit. I flew up to Lena's balcony and I saw that I couldn't see in. The blinds were drawn closed. I walked over to the door and pulled, but it wouldn't open. I used my x ray and I saw Lena sitting on her couch, knees pulled up to her chest, and her head on her knees. I knocked on the door. "Lena, please. Let me in." I stated softly. I didn't want the guards to hear me and cause a scene.

I used my x ray vision again and I saw that she didn't move. "Lena, please. I'm not going to leave until we talk. Please." I knocked again. She stayed on her spot. I put my palm on the door. "Lena, this isn't the way I wanted this to go. I never meant to hurt you. I only wanted to protect you from me, from the trouble that my real identity brings to those around me." I sighed.

I knocked one more time, almost desperately. I bit my lip and tears threatened to fall. I balled my fists. "I wish you were out here. I wish I could hold you right now, but if I don't say this now, I will never forgive myself. I will go crazy if I can't tell you the truth. But yes. To answer your question, I love you, Lena Luthor." I took in a shaky breath.

"I love you. I never thought that I could be in love with anyone after I lost my planet. After I lost everyone. But the impossible happened,  _you_  happened, Lena. You came into my life and changed me forever. And I love you for it. I love you for who you are. Your caring, beautiful, and selfless personality. And I would do anything for you." I swallowed the fear that was being wedged in my heart by Lena's silence. I looked again and she barely moved from her spot. Her head tilted my way, but nothing that hinted that she was going to open the door and let me in.

I continued anyway. "That means I would defend you with my life even if the odds were overwhelming. It means I will never give up on you. It means I will never put you in danger no matter how noble the 'cause' may be. To me, love means protecting the earth, protecting humanity, being kind to animals, but should anyone demand your life, I will tell them to rot in hell. There can never be a higher calling to me than protecting and caring for those I love, and you are the one I love."

I waited for her to say something, to do something, but her silence taunted me. Gnawed at my insides. It was like a gaping void, needing to be filled with sounds, words, anything.

The silence was poisonous in its nothingness, cruelly underscoring how useless my effort had become. It clung to the balcony like a poisonous cloud that at any moment could choke the life out of me. My breath was caught and I felt as if the cloud entered my lungs and made its way to my heart.

I broke from my terror of her rejection and my world turned into a blur. And so did all the sounds coming from the city. Everything was just gone. I paused and tried to hold back the strange feelings rumbling inside me but I couldn't. A single tear traced down my cheek, and just like that, the floodgates opened. I couldn't stand the silence coming from Lena's office anymore and I raced off to my apartment. I crashed in through the window.

As much as I tried to hold it in, the salty tears started falling down one after another, without a sign of stopping. I hit the wall and left a dent as the drywall crumbled to the floor. My muffled sobs wracked against my chest. I sunk to my knees and eventually leaned against the wall, my arms wrapped around my legs and head on my knees. The silence haunted me as I sat in darkness. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply.

A pair of gentle hands pulled my shoulders away from the cold wall. Through my tears, I saw Alex's warm brown eyes. I clenched my jaw and tried to stifle my sobs. Alex pulled me in close to her. My hands clutched at her jacket. She held me in silence, rocking me slowly as my tears soaked her chest. I breathed in deeply and finally pulled away from Alex's shoulder. "Hey, hey, what happened?" She asked softly. "I went to talk to her, but she cut off anyone coming to her office. I went to her balcony, but everything was closed there too." I explained.

"Maybe she wasn't there?"

I shook my head. "No, she was. I saw her. She was in her office. She just sat there, listening." I wiped a tear away. Alex caressed my face. "I'm so sorry, Kara." She whispered. "The worst part is, I confessed that I loved her, and she didn't do anything. She let me keep talking like some lovesick idiot and she didn't even respond to me." I sniffled. "Yesterday, when she talked to me in the med bay, I may have let it slip that I loved her. She questioned me on it, but before I could answer, Dr. Hamilton's assistant interrupted us and Lena rushed out." I answered the question that I knew was on Alex's mind.

Alex held me close. "I'm so sorry Kara. Love is hard for everyone. And unfortunately for you, it's even more complicated. It's just something that we all have to work through and hope it gets better. Trust me, it was so hard and almost feeling hopeless when I first came out and Maggie rejected me. But I know that it will get better soon. I'm here for you." She pulled back and I stared at the ground bleakly. She tilted my chin up gently and wiped away another tear. "Trust me Kara. Okay?" I gave her a small nod. "Okay."

Alex stood up and held out her hand. "Come on, I think that this calls for an emergency sister night." I took her hand and she pulled me up. "What about Maggie? Your dinner?" I asked. "This seems more important than a dinner." Alex stated.

"But-"

"It's fine, Kara. Maggie said she completely understands."

I raised my eyebrow. "How did you know?" I asked. Alex gave me a sly smile. "Sisterly intuition." She joked. I gave her a small smile and rolled my eyes. "Sure." Alex laughed. "It's the one superpower that all sisters have. I just happened to have the power honed in." She grabbed my hand and led me over to the couch. "Come on, I think it's time for that Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds movie marathon that you've been begging me to watch with you."

We ordered pizza and Chinese food as we binged on classic musicals and other movies. We stayed up late snuggled on the couch and we devoured a few pints of ice cream that I had in my freezer. The pain in my heart lessened as I drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

The next morning, I woke up as I fell off the couch. I groaned and looked up to see Alex smugly curled up under a blanket. "You did that on purpose." I breathed tiredly. She smiled and stretched. "Maybe, maybe not." I sighed and stood up. I glanced around at the damage that we did. I could see the stack of pizza boxes that I had finished, along with the leaning tower of Chinese takeout boxes, and cartons of ice cream. "We did a lot of damage last night." Alex stated as she got to my side. "Yeah, tell me about it." My stomach growled and she laughed. "I still can't believe that you're not full. I can't even look at pizza without my stomach feeling like it will burst."

I smiled and reached for a piece that was forgotten in a half-eaten box. I took a bit of the cold pizza and Alex scrunched her face in disgust. "Gross."


	10. Chapter 10

2 weeks went by and I heard nothing from Lena. Eventually, I gave up staring at my phone and stopping by L Corp. I decided to immerse myself in my life as Kara Danvers, the reporter, and Supergirl. It felt great to have Snapper actually  _praise_  me about my articles and saving people helped me work through the emptiness I felt when I was alone. Maggie and Alex were extremely supportive and stood by my side. They would always invite me over to dinner, or lunch, or even breakfast. James, Winn, and Mon-El always invited me to game nights at the bar. And I would always go to them. I knew I was loved, and I wasn't going to pass on my family.

* * *

Winn, Mon-El, and I were watching Revenge of the Sith one evening. The movie ended and Mon-El went to clean up the kitchen from dinner. Winn yawned and stretched before flipping the tv to the news. I watched the screen and my jaw dropped in shock.  **Breaking News: Otto Binder Bridge Collapsing as Explosions Threaten Stability** flashes across the screen. I could see the wires straining and the once level deck was buckling and jerking. I pulled on my suit and raced over to Otto Binder Bridge. The sun blinded me as it was about to dip below the mountains. I squinted and sped over to the twisting bridge. I landed down on the center of the bridge and the deck swung like it was following one huge wave after another. I saw a car that was on the deck, teetering ever closer to the edge. The people screamed as the car caught some air and finally fell off. I raced after it and flew it back up to the secure part of the road just before it turned into the bridge.

I continuously flew around trying to evacuate people from the bridge. I landed back down after moving a truck to safety when another explosion rocked the bridge. All the lights went out and the entire bridge went dark. I focused and saw that the deck in the center of the bridge finally gave out. A school bus was about to fall into the hole where the road used to be. I grabbed the back of the bus and pulled it away from the hole. The kids inside the bus cried out in relief. "Everyone stay seated. It'll be okay, just hold on." I commanded as I lifted the bus back to the end of the bridge.

After I placed the bus back down, I could hear the metal groaning as the bridge continued to flex and bend more freely due to the break in the deck. A bunch of empty cars fell into the water like dominoes off the bridge. I scanned around one more time to make sure that everyone got off the bridge in time. There, in the center of the bridge, I saw a man clinging to the concrete tower. I rushed over to his side. His eyes were slammed shut and he gripped onto the wall desperately. "Sir, reach out to me, I'm here to help you." I stated. Another explosion rocked the bridge. "NO!" He held the metal supports on the wall tighter.

"It's going to be okay. All you need to do is reach out, I will get you to a safe spot." He opened one of his eyes and looked at me. "I-I can't." He stated. "Yes, you can. Everything will be fine." He looked at me for an extra second, debating with himself. "O-kay." He began to reach out when the deck under me collapsed. He immediately flinched and pulled back. "OH GOD I'M GOING TO DIE!" I jumped up and floated above the spot where I just was. "No, you won't. It'll be okay, you can trust me."

He shook his head. "NO! I can't!" He cried. "I promise. You'll get back to safety." The bridge groaned again as it swayed unnaturally. The man whimpered as the tower started to lean. "You promise me?" He asked quickly. "Of course." I held out my hand and he reached out. I grabbed on and he let go of the wall. I held onto him tightly as he cowered into my shoulder. I flew back to stable ground and placed him down.

He immediately went to his knees and clutched the ground as he cried. The man looked back up to me. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." I nodded at the man. "I told you, you can trust me." I smiled at him. EMTs rushed to the man's side. I looked over to the survivors and saw that the emergency responders were taking care of them. Another explosion and a metallic whipping sound cut into my concentration.  _Kara, you need to think of something, fast. The bridge is about to collapse into the water. If it does that, then more than 35,000 tons of concrete and 7,000 tons of steel will plummet into the bay. That on top of all the cars that are also on the deck. It'll cause its own tsunami and destroy a good portion of the city. And let's not mention all the oil and gas that are inside the cars. It'll destroy all sea life inside the bay, and the ocean surrounding National City._ Winn reminded me.

I flew under the bridge as I saw the stiffening girder about to snap away from the abutment. I pushed it back and used my heat vision to melt it back into place. I flew back up to the deck and saw a few cars that had caught on fire from the explosions. I rushed over to them and used my freeze breath to extinguish the flames. I hovered in the center of the bridge as I thought that the worse was over.

Suddenly, I heard another noise that sounded like a metallic crack of a whip. I was thrown out of the sky as pain struck my back and something wrapped around my body tightly. I cried out in pain as I crashed into the water and the air was knocked out of my lungs. I gasped in shock and took an unexpected breath of water.  _Kara are you okay? Can you hear me?_ My throat burned as the salt scratched at my vocal cords. The water around me turned dark as I realized that I was bleeding. The salt dug into my open wound on my back like a fire.

I pulled myself out of the entanglement and pushed out of the water. I landed back onto the deck and gasped for air as the water left my lungs. I glanced around and found the culprit of the attack. It was the suspender cables that were snapping left and right. It must've caught me off guard and wrapped around me.  _Kara? What happened?_ "I'm fine Winn. I was just caught off guard by the suspender cables. What do I do? They're all snapping."

 _Umm, there's nothing much you can do. The bridge is about to give way. The only thing you can do now is to get ready to stop a tsunami._ I scoffed. "You're kidding, right? How in the world am I supposed to do that?" Winn started to talk into the comm, but I ignored him as an idea came into my mind. I raced around the bridge, moving all the cars away from the high stress points. I was carrying a car when another cable snapped. I heard it break, and I anticipated it, but one of the smaller wires still caught me. I cried out again as it tore through the suit.  _Kara! What are you doing?_

"What does it look like?" I asked through clenched teeth. The car above me wobbled as pain coursed through my body. I used my heat vision to detach the wire from the bridge. As I placed the last car, the bridge seemed to calm down. The deck stopped twisting and crumbling into the ocean. I used my heat vision to strengthen the frayed wires and cracked metal.

I took a breath and scanned the bridge one more time before flying weakly back to the DEO. Winn and Alex rushed to my side and helped me to the med bay. Winn cut off the wire that was still wrapped around me while Alex got Dr. Hamilton.

"You're lucky you have fast healing Kara." Dr. Hamilton stated and picked out the fragments of metal from my skin. "I don't  _feel_  very lucky right now." I deadpanned. "Are you kidding? Do you know how thick those cables are? They're steel wires inside a steel casing secured by steel clamps. They're crazily strong and thick!" Winn prattled. "Yes, Winn, I think she gets the point." Alex stated as she watched me. We all sat in silence for a few minutes.

I flinched as Hamilton pulled a piece from my skin. I looked over to my discarded suit and up to Winn. "Hey, I'm really sorry about the suit." I apologized. "You don't need to be. I can make another one. I'm just glad that you are okay." Winn smiled at me. "Thanks." I stated and smiled back. He had a creative gleam in his eye. I saw Alex shift her weight and cross her arms in the corner of my eye.

I looked over to her and raised my eyebrow. "Something-ow- wrong?" I asked as Hamilton pulled another piece of metal. "Why didn't you listen to Winn when he said that the bridge was going to fall?" She asked.

"Because I wasn't just going to give up. I knew that I needed to stop it." I answered. She stared at me. "How? Our resident  _genius_  couldn't even figure it out." She stated mockingly and Winn interrupted. "Hey! I  _am_ a genius! That's why I'm here." His eyebrows furrowed after a second. "But yeah, how did you?"

"Lena. She had plans to update Otto Binder Bridge a few months ago. I helped her look over the plans before she brought it to the National City Board but they rejected her idea."

"That must mean that Lex must've set those bombs. He probably wants the Board to think that Lena did it." Alex concluded. "Yeah, I assume so." I stated. She looked at me expectantly. "Well, aren't you coming with me?" She asked. I shook my head. "No." I answered simply. "Today took a lot out of me." I added after a few seconds. Alex opened her mouth, and I knew exactly what she was going to say.  _Aren't you going to defend her? Aren't you going to try to talk with her?_

But instead, she just nodded and left the med bay. Winn left shortly after. "Kara, there's a piece of metal that is lodged in your lower back. I need you to lay down on your stomach so I can get it out without tearing more skin. Okay?"

I laid down on my stomach. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as I felt Hamilton grasp the last fragment of the metal wire. I heard the door open, but not before Hamilton pulled the metal out from my back. I cried out loudly and squeezed my eyes shut. "Holy Rao." I whimpered.

Suddenly, there was a cooling sensation on my gash. "Like I said, you're lucky you have faster healing, but even with this, it'll take a few hours to heal. I'm putting a disinfectant on now just to make sure that it will be okay. I know it's hardly possible for you to get an infection, but I want to make sure. We can't afford you to be out for long." Dr. Hamilton explained.

She quickly worked and wrapped up my back. I decided to stay on my stomach, as I would imagine that laying down normally would hurt too much. I breathed in deeply and I smelled the disinfectant the med bay used. I started to drift off when I heard the softest voice. "You're okay."

I knew that voice immediately. I wanted to turn around quickly, but my back protested. I bit my lip and turned around slowly. Lena stood in the doorway, hair thrown up in a messy bun, wearing grey sweats and my blue Midvale Academics Club t-shirt.

Her arms were wrapped around her torso, almost protectively. I reached over and pulled a black DEO t-shirt over my bandages and sports bra. "Yeah, I am." I answered. Her green eyes studied me carefully. I easily stared back at her, watching her gauge me. The tension in the room was high and I could hear her heart pounding. She took a step forward. "I saw you on the news. With Otto Binder Bridge." She started.

"Yeah. I'd imagine so. The bridge was collapsing." I stated blandly. Lena swallowed and took a breath. "I was worried. It looked like you were really hurt. Especially after the suspender cables started snapping. And after the lights went out, I couldn't see you anymore." She explained. "Well, I'm alive." The med bay fell into another tension filled silence. Lena broke it again after a few more seconds of watching me. "I-I read your articles. They were amazing." She complimented. "Yeah. They were good. Snapper said so. We celebrated."  _And you weren't there,_  I wanted to add, but instead, I took a breath.

She frowned and took another step to me. "Kara-" She started, but cut herself short. She bit her lip and looked away from me. I exhaled quickly and decided to pull the band aid off. "What are you doing here, Lena?" I asked.

She seemed to shrink under my gaze. "I-I came here to apologize." I bit my lip, but stayed silent.

"I should've done something. I shouldn't have locked you out. I should've listened to you. I should've responded to your texts, your attempts to get into my office. I should've let you in after you came to talk to me. I realize that I made a major mistake, and I don't blame you if you won't forgive me."

Her voice cracked and I saw a tear fall down her face. "I don't even think I can forgive myself. I acted selfishly and I hurt you in the process. And I'll go, if you want me to, but I must say something first." She took in a brave breath. "I didn't answer you because I was afraid. I'm afraid that if you stay with me, I'll kill you bit by bit. That's what I do to those who love me. Why, I'm not sure. But how can I offer anything to you? You can literally touch the skies. You'll soar high and I'll just drag you down. That's how it is with me. I've never felt loved, ever. Not with my mother, my father, or even Lex. I was just-  _there_." She turned away from me.

"I'm afraid that I can't give you the same amount of love that you offer me I want to be with you. But, I'm afraid. I'm afraid to be happy. Because, when I do get to be happy, something always happens that strips away any sense of joy. I feel like my life is sucked into a black hole and I have to start again." She turned back around, her eyes red. "And I just got you, Kara, and I don't want to start again. My heart can't take it if I can't have you. You are my life. I see that now." She finally finished. Her eyes searched mine, hoping. I looked away from her eyes.

"You can be angry at me forever. I'll stay out of your way." She added, almost inaudibly.


	11. Chapter 11

I broke my silence. "I'm not angry at you, Lena. I mean, at first I was just-  _so_  angry and miserable. How could I not be? I waited. Outside your office. In my apartment with my phone in my hands. For minutes. Hours. Days.  _Weeks_. All I ever got was silence. I've never opened my heart to anyone, besides Alex. I've never shown that side of me to anyone else. I've never felt so strongly about anyone else, except you. Do you know how much it hurt to open my heart to you, and for you to say  _absolutely_  nothing?" I clenched my jaw and stood up slowly. I watched silently as Lena's lip quivered. She took another step backwards. The piercing green of her eyes seemed to lose all vibrancy and fire as realization hit her. They were broken. Lost. "I'll- go." She turned around and I could see her body shaking as she made her way to the door.

My heart was beating out of my chest as she slowly made her way out of the med bay. The blood in my ears were pounding and I could feel my body shaking. Anger coursed through my veins, but it wasn't aimed at Lena. It was aimed at myself.  _I love Lena, why am I pushing her away? She confessed that she loved me back. What am I doing?_

I looked at my reflection in the glass of the doorway. Suddenly, my mind snapped to one thought _, I can't let Lena leave._  I pulled open the door and jogged down the hallway. My heart was pounding and my throat was dry. I tried to find her heartbeat, but I only heard my own. Panic started to set into my body.  _I can't let her leave._ I tried to use my x ray, but I forgot about the lead that was laced around the DEO.  _Thanks J'onn_. I thought bitterly.

I bit my lip and stopped at a dead end. I felt disorientated and dizzy by running around. But then, I heard it. It was so very quiet, but I knew it was Lena. She was crying. Somewhere close. My heart picked up again as I searched the nearby rooms. I finally opened the door leading to the locker room and I found her. She was leaning heavily against the wall, and her back was towards me. I could see that she was biting her fist, trying to stop the sobs from escaping her mouth. An icy stake went through my heart and slowly grew to my limbs.  _I did this, oh Rao. What did I do?_

I took a step closer to her, but then stopped. Should I say something? I quietly made it to her side and reached out to touch her, but then I pulled back my hand. Did she even want to speak to me? Finally, I placed my hand on her shoulder. Her body went rigid and she straightened her back. Her heart sped up as she stood there. She slowly faced me and her eyes went wide. I pulled her in for a soft kiss. At first, she didn't respond, and terror echoed through my body.  _I lost her._

I was about to pull away when she suddenly unfroze from her spot and held onto me. I held her hip with my one hand and the other held her cheek. Her hands held both sides of my face, just under my jaw. She pulled me deeper into the kiss. I felt something cold on my face and I opened my eyes to see that tears were streaking down her face. I took my thumb and wiped away the trail. Lena slowly opened her eyes.

Confusion was written on her face. "Ever since I came to this planet, I've been able to hear heartbeats, and I've tried to understand what people were feeling when I heard them. At first, I thought that it was fear and anger at me that made your heart beat that fast." I spoke softly.

I paused for a second. "Alex spent the next few days with me in my apartment, trying to cheer me up. She hadn't seen Maggie in a few days and I felt terrible about it. I texted Maggie to come over and have dinner with us. When Maggie was at the door and Alex answered, I heard both of their hearts beating so fast." I smiled at her and listened to her heart.

"They both sounded almost exactly like yours did." Her hand cupped mine as she leaned into it. " _I'm so sorry_." Her voice cracked as she whispered. More tears streamed down her face and she closed her eyes. "You don't need to say sorry. If anything, I should be apologizing. This was all my fault. I should've just told you the truth from the start. All I know is that I can't afford to lose you, Lena." I stated. She looked back to me and finally graced me with a small smile. "Kiss me and call it even?"

I smiled and pulled her back in for a kiss. Her lips brought warmth to my heart and gave me back the fire that I missed in my chest. The kiss became more intense and hungry. Her arms wrapped around my waist before they crept up my back and pulled me closer to her. I yelped and pulled away as pain rushed through my back. She instantly released me. "Sorry." She exhaled. "It's okay." I reassured her.

She smiled sheepishly at me. "I love you." I leaned in again, but instead of kissing her, I rested my forehead on hers. I closed my eyes and held her close to me. "I love you too." I breathed contently. A huge smile broke out on her face.

Her touch brought fire to my skin and it tingled even after her fingers trailed down my arms. The reality about the bridge hit me like a truck. I pulled away. "Lena, we have to go." I stated. "What, why? You're still hurt." She stated. "I'm fine." I dismissed and grabbed her hand. "Remember your plans to rebuild Otto Binder Bridge? And how the city rejected it?" I reminded her. Lena's eyes widened. "Oh god. They're going to blame me. They're going to think that I caused this because my plans got shot down." She realized. I shook my head. "Not if I don't have something to do with it."  
"What are you going to do?" She asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know, yet." I stated and went to walk off, but Lena pulled me back. "Wait, no. You can't go charging into this without a plan. The media will have a field day with this and Lex will destroy you if you don't have a plan." She stated. "Well, I can't just let the media slander your name and have Lex get away with it. I'm tired of seeing people trying to ruin what you are doing for the world."

She gave me a small smile. "Kara, it'll be fine. I've faced this type of harassment all of my life." She tried to argue. "Yeah, but now I'm here to stop it. You don't deserve this treatment from anyone." I stated hotly. "I'm not saying I don't want to fight this, Kara, I just want to do it intelligently. Please." She pleaded. I exhaled. "Okay, you're right. We need to be careful." I agreed.

My back twinged in pain as I pushed the door open. I tried to hide it, but Lena saw it anyway. "Hey, wait, wait. Kara, you shouldn't be up yet. You're still healing." She uttered as she stopped. "It's fine, it'll heal soon." I brushed off and kept walking. "Wait, stop. Just listen to me." She held my forearm gently. I paused. "If Lex really is behind all this, then he's in it for the long run. He won't stop until he's done with whatever he has planned. He'll want you running around weak. He'll be waiting for the perfect moment to strike. As much as I don't want to admit it, you're going to have to fight him eventually. We both know it." She elaborated.

She looked to me with worried eyes. "I just don't want you getting hurt." She whispered. "I'll be fine, Lena." I stated. Her green eyes pleaded with me. I sighed and gave her a small smile. "Okay, fine. I'll stay here for another hour, but after that, we're going to stop this."

We walked back into the med bay. Dr. Hamilton looked up from her charts. She raised her eyebrow in confusion. "I thought that you already went back to your apartment." She stated. Her eyes landed on Lena. "Miss Luthor, it's good to see you again." She smiled. "Can we get the solar lamps for Kara?" She asked. Dr. Hamilton nodded. "Of course. The bed on the end has them already equipped." She pointed to the back of the med bay. I huffed lightly as I walked over to the bed. In the corner of my eye, I could see a small smug smile on Lena's face as she turned on the lamps.

I laid down and drifted between being awake and asleep. A little while later, I woke up and looked over to where Lena was napping. She was slumped over slightly in the uncomfortable chair. Dr. Hamilton walked up to the other side of me. "Feeling any better?" She asked. I nodded and sat up slowly. "Yeah, actually I am." Dr. Hamilton gently undid the bandages. "I'd hope so, you've been out for 4 hours."

"What? Really?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but it seems like a good thing. You must've been tired. But laying here under the sun lamps helped you heal a bit fast than I anticipated. These wounds didn't seem to respond to the sunlight when you first came in, but it looks like Lena helped you out."

I glanced back over to her sleeping form. "Has she been here the entire time?" I asked. Dr. Hamilton nodded. "The entire time." She assured. I looked back over to Dr. Hamilton. "Thank you."

Dr. Hamilton stood up. "Just take it easy, Kara." She called before walking away. I stood up and quietly walked over to Lena. I was going to wake her up, but I could see the dark circles under her eyes. I carefully picked her up and flew slowly back to my apartment. I placed her down on my bed before throwing a blanket over her. She rolled over and sighed contently as she gripped the blanket.

I smiled to myself and walked back out to my kitchen. I sat down on one of the stools and reached out to grab a piece of fruit, but something smelled terrible. I grimaced as I realized that it was me that smelled like old seaweed. "Gross." I stated as I put down the fruit and headed to the shower.

I quickly washed the nasty scent off of me and got dressed. I walked back out and sat down at my tv. I turned it on and watched as several news teams were reporting on the bridge accident and how it could be linked to Lena and her rejection of the renovation. "How are we going to stop this?" I murmured out loud.

There was a knock on my door. I got up and answered it. Maggie stood in the doorway, looking concerned. "Hey Maggie, what's up? Are you okay?" I asked. "Is Alex here?" She looked over my shoulder into my apartment. I stepped aside so she could walk in. "No, I haven't seen her since after the incident with the people on the bridge. Is something wrong?"

"I've called her about 5 times and she won't pick up." Maggie stated. "Have you tried locating her phone?" I asked. "Yeah, I asked Winn to locate it, but he can't find it anywhere." She answered. "I know that I don't have DEO tech, but I do know that Lex has added some prototype signal decryptors to L Corps' satellites. I can try and track it." Lena added as she walked over to us groggily. "Could you? I mean, it's not like Alex to go radio silent for this long." Maggie added.

Lena gave a reassuring smile. "Of course, we can go to L Corp right now." They both looked over to me. "You coming?" Maggie asked. "Of course, if Alex is missing, we need to find her right away." I stated.

After a few minutes in a cab, we finally made it to L Corp. Lena logged into her computer as Maggie and I stood close. We watched the screen as the satellites searched for Alex's phone. After a few seconds, the computer beeped. "She's located on the corner of Smith and Watts." Lena reported. Maggie turned to leave, but I rushed out to Lena's balcony before racing off into the night's sky. I landed down in an alleyway and jogged over to the street corner.

I used my x ray vision and searched around for her phone. I spotted in a gutter a few feet away. I called Lena.  _Did you find her?_  Maggie asked. "No, it's just her phone. It was in a gutter. I-I think someone grabbed her. She usually is very careful." Maggie sighed _. Okay, come back here._  I examined the phone and found something tapped to the back. "No, head to the DEO. You and Lena both. I think I found a lead." I stuffed her phone in my pocket before hurrying to the alley to take off.

I filled in J'onn and Winn about what happened as we waited for Maggie and Lena to show up. "What did you find?" Winn asked as they two women walked up to us. I pulled the phone out of my pocket. I flipped the case over.  _You're going to listen to me if you want your sister back alive and unharmed. -L_

Everyone else stared at the message. "Lex." Lena growled. Winn glanced around. "What do we do?" He asked. "There isn't anything we can do for now. We have no leads, nothing to go off of. We don't even know where Lex is hiding." J'onn stated. "What about the subdermal tracker?" I asked. Winn shook his head. "Offline since she disappeared." I clenched my fist in anger. He was right, but I hated the fact that I couldn't do anything. "Are you saying we just sit on our asses until he hurts Alex?" She vocalized my anger. "No, he's right Maggie. We have nothing to go on. And the note says that she'll be unharmed." Lena pointed out.

Maggie's eyes shot over to Lena. "Oh, that's rich, coming from you,  _Luthor._  I bet you're in on this! You probably know where he's holding her." Maggie barked. "Why would I be?" Lena asked coolly. Maggie steeped ever so closer to Lena. "Why wouldn't you?! I mean, you must think that you're safe from anything. You already have Kara  _and_  Supergirl in the palm of your hand because you're fucking her-" I stepped between the two of them. "Hey! Maggie, cool it! You're letting your emotions control you and it's going to cause you to say things you'll regret!" I interrupted.

"I can't believe that your taking that monster's side! Over your own sister!" She shouted and stepped closer. Her face was inches from mine. Her brown eyes were dark as they glared at me. I stood strongly as I glowered back at her. "Don't you  _dare_  say that." I snarled dangerously. "I will always,  _always_  take Alex's side. She's my sister!" I scoffed dryly. "But you talk shit about Lena, you'll pay for it. That ' _monster'_  is my girlfriend! She's been trying to help us locate Alex!" I defended.

"Maybe she's just doing that because she wants us to think that she is innocent!" Maggie argued. Lena pushed us apart. "Maggie, you know that there is no one that Kara loves more than Alex. There is no way in hell that I would get between them, or you and Alex." She stated. The control room fell into a tension filled silence.

The silence finally broke when my phone rang. "Hello?" A distorted voice spoke.  _Hello Kara Danvers._  "Who is this?"  _A long time friend._  "Where are you holding Alex, Lex?" The voice laughed.  _Lex would be very insulted if he knew that you thought of me to be him. Actually, I am too._  "Then who are you."  _I already told you_. The voice went silent for a second. "What do you want?"  _A man named Peter Thompson is serving a life sentence at Albatross Bay Supermax. You will free him within the next 36 hours or your sister will die. And I know you can, because I know you're Supergirl_. The line went dead. I gave the others a confused and worried look.

I placed my phone down on the table. "Who was it? Lex?" Winn asked. I shook my head. "I don't know." I answered. "What did they want?" Lena asked. "They want me to break a someone out of Albatross Bay Supermax. A Peter Thompson." I informed them. J'onn looked over to Winn. "I'm already on it." Winn declared as he typed away.

Lena and Maggie continued to stare at each other, but didn't say anything. Winn reached over and grabbed a tablet before walking back over to us. A mugshot popped up on the large screen. "Peter Thompson, 65 years old. Charged with three home invasions, two DUls, and two counts of felony murder. Serving a life sentence at Albatross Bay since 1987." Winn listed. I looked over to Lena. "Does he look familiar?"

She shook her head. "No, his name isn't recognizable either." She answered. Maggie crossed her arms. "Any ties to Lex, or Lillian?" Maggie asked. "Nope, nothing." He confirmed. "Then why would Lex want him out of prison?" Lena asked. There was a quick silence before J'onn broke it. "Winn, continue to investigate Thompson. Maggie, go back to NCPD and put out a BOLO for Alex. Lena, could you access your satellites from the DEO?" He commanded. "Yeah, just give me a computer." J'onn pointed to a dark screen. I didn't need J'onn to tell me what to do. I quickly changed into my suit and got ready to leave the DEO.

Mon-El rushed over to my side. "Kara! What's going on?" He asked. "Alex is kidnapped and we think it was Lex. We're trying to locate her." I answered. "Can I help?" He questioned. "Sure." He smiled at me, before turning serious. "I'll ask around at the alien bar to see if anyone saw her get taken." He stated. "Thank you, Mon-El, but be careful." He nodded before leaping away.

I jumped into the sky and hovered above the skyscrapers for at least 20 minutes.  _Come on, Alex come on._ I blocked out every other sound and tried to listen for her heartbeat. Nothing. I swallowed thickly. A voice rang in my ear, and it partially startled me.  _Kara, I think we got something on Thompson._  "Okay Winn, I'll be there in a bit." I tuned everything out for a second and waited again, but still there was nothing. I sighed before flying back to the DEO.

Everyone was gathered back in the control room. "So, I scanned the visitor logs for Peter Thompson over the past three years. They're pretty sparse, except for one name that keeps popping up." Winn informed. "Who?" Maggie asked. "Doesn't matter, it's a fake name. But I pulled security footage and, baby, I ran that facial recognition software." He typed into the table before another picture popped up of a younger man that had a familiar face. "Thompson has a son?" Lena concluded. "But we checked, he doesn't have any relations." I uttered. "Well, apparently, there's a lot of  _family_  drama." J'onn stated. "Thompson's name isn't even on the kid's birth certificate." Maggie pointed out.

Winn nodded and another picture popped up, this time it was of paperwork. "I only figured this out after I cross-checked the name with the court transcripts. The kid spoke at Thompson's sentencing, and his name is Rick Malverne." Winn declared. Mon-El pointed to the small text. "It looks like he has a house an hour outside the city."

"Malverne. Why does that sound so familiar?" I thought out loud. "Because he grew up in Midvale." J'onn asserted. My stomach dropped as I studied the picture more . "Ricky?"

"You know him?" Maggie asked. "Yeah, we went to school together. He was normal. He was nice in school. He used to carry Alex's bookbag. I don't understand it. Why go after Alex?"

"Also why align with Lex?" Lena asked. "I don't know, and I don't care, but I'm going to get him." Maggie claimed. "Whoa, wait, why not bring him here?" Winn asked. "This isn't an alien affair. It's a kidnapping case. NCPD has jurisdiction and I want to be the one to bring this bastard in." Maggie stated hotly. "On what premise? You can't arrest and detain without a probable charge. You have no proof without the DEO. You have to bring him here. Otherwise you risk hurting Alex." Lena mentioned.

Maggie clenched her jaw as she silently agreed with Lena. J'onn turned to me. "Kara, you want to do the honors and bring him in?"

I took in a strong breath. "Hell yes." I looked over to Maggie's disappointed face. "Coming Maggie?" She immediately smirked at me and jogged to my side. "Let's go catch this snake."


	12. Chapter 12

Maggie took off in her squad car as I raced overhead _. Kara, I'm sorry. You were right. What I said was out of line._  Maggie stated softly in the comms. "It's okay Maggie, you are just worried for Alex. I know how that feels." I brushed off, not entirely focused on what Maggie was saying _. No, no. I shouldn't have gone after Lena like that. And I shouldn't have called her a monster. She isn't_. I stayed silent, just focusing on getting to Ricky.  _And I also shouldn't have thought you would go against Alex like that. I just-_  I cut her off. "Maggie, I said it's fine. Besides, now isn't really the time to be talking about this. We don't need extra emotions between us while we get Malverne. And you shouldn't really be apologizing to me. Apologize to Lena." I stated. She knew I was right _. Oh, okay._

I touched down just as Maggie pulled up. I waited patiently as she parked and jogged up to the door. Her eyes scanned me cautiously. "Ready?" I asked. She nodded and knocked on the door. "Rick Malverne, this is the NCPD. Open up." She called.

It was silent. I quickly scanned the house, and saw a no one inside. Actually, there was nothing at all. I kicked the door down. Maggie and I entered the empty house and began to search for clues. Maggie had her gun in her hands as she turned down a different hallway. I went through a door by the back of the house and saw a bunch of monitors. There were four camera angles, and I could see Alex trapped in a box. "Maggie!" I called.

I heard Maggie jog to me. "Oh god, Alex!" She cried in relief. I leaned over and tried to talk to Alex, but no avail. "It won't work without the passcode." A new voice said. Maggie and I turned around to see Ricky standing in the doorway. "Kara Danvers." He purred. An odd sensation rolled through my body as I saw Ricky there. Chills ran up my arms and my head throbbed slightly, but I stood strong. "Ricky." He smiled, but happiness wasn't behind it. "No, actually, It's just Rick now." His eyes looked over my body. "Geez, I haven't seen you since graduation. You look great." I rushed over to his side and picked him up by the collar. "Where is Alex?" He looked down at me, only slightly terrified as I held him in the air.

"You break my father out of prison yet?" He asked. "You know that she can't do that." Maggie added. Rick's eyes glanced over to Maggie. "Oh, yes. Detective Sawyer. You're the one who roped in Alex. It's funny, I never thought that Alex would play for the other team. You know that she used to have a crush on me?"

I felt my eyes burn. "Tell me where she is." I demanded. "That's so much cooler up close." He smiled again before it turned into a frown. "That's not how this works Kara. I have the upper-hand. You  _listen_  to me, or your sister dies." He stated coolly. I dropped him from my grip and I stopped my heat vision. "Let us talk to her." Maggie stated. "I mean, if it gets you to play ball-" He trailed off and typed in some code that I couldn't see. "Alex?" Maggie and I called.

Alex's head whipped around and looked at the camera. "Kara? Maggie? It's Ricky! Ricky Malverne! He kidnapped me!" She cried. "We know. We're with him right now. Are you okay?" Maggie asked.

"Where are you?" I added.

Alex looked around. "I-I don't know! I'm fine! Use my tracker!" She declared. "We can't, it's offline-" Rick reached over. "Okay, that's enough."

"No! No! Wait! Alex, we'll find you!"

The audio was cut off. I could see Alex banging on the glass walls and screaming to get out. Suddenly, the computers all died. "Okay, I've had enough of this." I twisted his arm behind his back. Maggie cuffed him and led Rick to her squad car. We headed back to the DEO.

Some agents took Rick away from us. Maggie looked over to me, seeming like she wanted to continue the conversation from earlier, but I walked over to Winn before she had the chance. "Any clues as to why Lex would recruit Rick to work with him?" I asked. Winn looked up from his screen. "Unfortunately, no. I've searched almost everything I can to see if there is any link between the two of them, but nothing." He huffed. "Keep looking." I turned to walk away, but he placed his hand on my shoulder. "It'll be okay, Kara. We'll get her back." His eyes watched me sympathetically.

"I know." I answered sharply. I marched past Winn and Maggie to the interrogation rooms. "How did you know I was Supergirl?" I asked as Maggie and I entered the room with Rick. "That day at the beach. Before you started wearing glasses. Back then, I had no idea that Alex would end up playing for the other team, so to speak. I was just happy she showed up on the date. Then there was a crash. And Alex's kid sister walked away without a scratch. People at school said it was adrenaline, but, uh-" Maggie cut him off.

"But you didn't believe that." She finished. Rick's eyes landed on me with wonder. "I saw Kara Danvers do something amazing. And it stayed with me." He leaned back in his chair. "I knew Kara was living in National City, and then Supergirl showed up in National City. I put two and two together. I knew it was you." He answered.

I stared at him with confusion. "What happened to you? I remember when Alex had the chicken pox, I was eating lunch by myself. You came and sat with me." I recalled. "I was 14. And I didn't have the nice house or the perfect family that you and your sister had."

Anger flared in my stomach. "You think we had it easy? You have no idea what Alex sacrificed for me. Or what I was going through!" I yelled. He scoffed. "Why, because you had to hide your superpowers? I was hiding  _bruises_! Do you have any idea what it's like to have your mother tell you that you're garbage every single night? A belt whenever you had the wrong opinion? And then I found a lifeline. A dad that my mom kept from me. And he saved me from her and he moved me away from Midvale. And even though he was always struggling, he always made sure there was food on the table and he got me enough money to go to college. And then three years ago, the state took him away from me." He stated.

"Your father killed two people." I pointed out. "And he confessed." Maggie added on. He rolled his eyes. "They had it coming. And now I'm going to rescue him like he rescued me." He smirked before looking down at his watch. "I can't believe that we're still talking about me! You have 24 hours and 11 minutes." I glared at him. Rick leaned forward. "Come on, Kara, show us some of that rah-rah Midvale High spirit. Free my dad! Or your sister dies!" He shouted.

That was the last straw. I raced forward and flung the table out of my way. I pinned Rick to the wall by his neck. All he did was smirk at me and hold onto my shoulder for some relief on the pressure I was applying. "Oh man, you use half this much gusto in springing my dad, you'll have your sister back for game night." He teased playfully.

"Kara! We're done here." Maggie's voice stated from behind me. I waited an extra second before dropping him to the ground. I walked back to Maggie's side.

"Hey. You know what'll be fun? Finding out which one of you loves her more. Honestly, I wouldn't know where to place my bet." My nose flared as it brought back what Maggie said earlier about Alex and Lena. I clenched my jaw and left the room. Just before the door closed, I heard Rick murmur, "Go Stallions."

I started to walk away from the interrogation room. "Kara, hey!" Maggie called, and she jogged up to my side. "Don't let him get in your head." She stated. "He's not." I answered shortly. She placed a hand on my shoulder. "It'll be fine." She reassured. I pulled away from her hand and anger flared inside my body like acid.

"I wish that everyone will stop saying that! Alex is kidnapped!  _Lex Luthor_  has my sister! This is the same guy that has had a vendetta against me and my cousin for as long as I can remember! He's almost killed Kal twice before! Who knows what he is doing to Alex! Who knows if he'll actually give her back after we do this? Lex can kill her! And if anything happens, that's on  _me_! I brought this to her life!" I ranted angrily. The anger settled a little as I finally registered the terror on Maggie's face.

I hadn't noticed that she had taken a step away from me. Regret replaced the anger. "I'm- going to go." I stated and turned away quickly. I passed by the agents without getting a second glance from anyone.  _Stay calm Kara._  I jumped into the sky.

As I hovered over National City, I heard a cry for help. I landed down harshly, and the concrete buckled under me. There, two men were trying to abduct a girl in an alleyway. Chills went through my spine and my hands tingled. "Oh hell no." I growled. The two men turned their attention to me. The girl ran off and away from their twisted intentions. "Supergirl!" Their faces blanched as I walked over. Anger boiled in my body again and my eyes lit up.

Terror was radiating off their bodies. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I grumbled. They cowered down to the ground. "No, please! Please! We're sorry, please." One man pleaded. "Sorry doesn't cut it." I deadpanned. I got closer to the men and was ready to attack when someone spoke. "Supergirl! Wait!" I glanced to my left and saw Mon-El landing down from a leap. "What do you want?" I snapped. "They submitted, don't hurt them." He stated.

"They were going to kidnap that girl. Who knows what pain they were going to inflict on that girl or her family." I pointed out. "That doesn't mean you get to act like judge, jury, and executioner." Mon-El refuted. I exhaled quickly. "Fine, take them to NCPD headquarters." I stated before flying off.

The day wore on and it soon turned into night. Exhaustion set in and I flew back to my apartment. I glided down through the window and into my bedroom. I quickly changed out of my suit. I walked into my kitchen and I saw Lena closing the refrigerator door with a glass of water in her other hand.

She glanced over her shoulder. "Hey babe. How was patrol?" She asked. I exhaled. "Fine. Mon-El got in the way though." I stated heatedly. Lena turned to face me. Her eyes calculated me for a second before walking over. "What did he do?" She asked. "He stopped me from taking down some criminals." I answered. "That's not all, is it?" She pressed.

I clenched my jaw. "They were going to kidnap a helpless girl. I was going to teach them to never commit a crime again, otherwise there would be serious consequences. Instead, Mon-El took them to the NCPD headquarters." I answered. Lena immediately understood that I did not like the close association of the girl's almost kidnapping had with Alex being taken. She rubbed my arm. "Don't worry Kara, we'll get her back." She stated. "I know that, but I don't want to jeopardize anyone else."

"You won't. Everything will turn out fine."

I huffed. "How can you say that?" I asked. She raised her eyebrow. "What?" She seemed confused. "How can you say that everything will turn out fine?" I repeated. Her eyebrows scrunched together. "Because I  _believe in you_ , Kara." I laughed and confusion embedded itself further on her face. "What are you laughing at?" Her voice had an edge to it. "Oh please, belief? That's what you're basing it on? You say you believe in me, when you can barely believe in yourself. So how am I supposed to think that we'll get Alex back safely?" Anger bubbled in the pit of my stomach, but it cooled almost instantly.

Lena's eyes widened before narrowing slightly at me. "Okay, I don't really know what's going on, or what's making you say this, but I'm going to think that it's from all this extra stress about Alex being kidnapped." She brushed off my words and started to walk away.

I grabbed her arm. The anger in my stomach was cooled, but I could still taste it on my tongue. "No, I want you to hear me on this, Lena. I don't want you believing in anyone else.  _No one else_ , until you start believing in yourself. I'm tired of hearing you tear yourself down just because your last name happens to be Luthor. Stop it. You deserve so much more that what this life has offered you so far." Lena studied me. At first, she seemed hurt by my words. Her unreadable green eyes seemed to be searching my soul, trying to find out where these words were coming from. They tried to be authoritative and get me to crack, but I didn't falter under her gaze. The words must've sunk in more as she realized what I was trying to say. Tears glinted in her eyes, but never fell. "Kara." She breathed. "Please, Lena. Believe in yourself first." I whispered. She nodded. I gave her a small smile. She leaned in and kissed me lightly before heading off to sleep.

I stayed in the kitchen and made a cup of coffee as I knew that I couldn't go to sleep. I wouldn't, not until Alex was safe. I sat on the stool for a good couple of hours, even after I finished my coffee. I absentmindedly ran my index finger around the rim of the empty mug as my mind wandered.

It was around 3 am when I finally went to lay down next to Lena. As if she knew that I was going to lay next to her, she rolled over and grabbed onto my waist. I still couldn't fall asleep, but listening to her heartbeat calmed me down slightly.

I must've drifted off because I woke up a few hours later, wrapped in warmth. Lena's head was just under my chin. Her left arm was laying on my side, holding me ever so gently. My left arm was under her neck and sticking out behind her. I could feel her steady breath lightly moving my t shirt. Her dark hair shone with the light that was peaking through my curtains.  _Light_  "No!" I pulled away from Lena's embrace.  _It's morning!_ I reached over to my phone.

There was a text message from Winn that was sent a few hours ago.  _Kara, I have a lead on Alex_.

"Something wrong?" Lena asked. "Yes, Winn got a lead on Alex hours ago. I got to go." I stated before taking off.

Maggie, J'onn, and Mon-El were in the control room with Winn and some other agents. Mon-El eyed me warily. "I've been decrypting a software update request from one of our trackers." Winn stated. "And the system's not recognizing the IP address." Vasquez reported. "Looks like a hack." Maggie offered as she stared at the screen. "Should I kill it?" Vasquez asked. "Wait, wait, wait, wait. That's- Alex! She, she- she couldn't get a signal out, so she wired herself into the camera!" Winn stated gleefully.

"Which means we only have to find the location of the camera's IP address, right?" Maggie asked. J'onn nodded. "Alex, you beautiful human! This is next level!" Winn chirped as he typed away. "Got it!" He shouted.

"How?" Mon-El asked. "It's a ping from her subdermal tracker." Winn answered. "She's not far." Maggie noticed on the map. "I'm going." I stated. "Wait, Kara, that might not be smart." J'onn pointed out. My mind was sent reeling, unable to comprehend what J'onn said, and what it seemed like everyone else in the room supported. I smiled almost nervously and shifted my weight. I waited an extra second to see if I heard him correctly. It couldn't have been right.

"I'm not going to wait until Lex harms Alex. Or changes his demands." I stated. J'onn gave a disapproving stare, which solidified my disbelief of what he said moments earlier. "I'm doing this, with, or without the DEO's help." I asserted. Mon-El's once wary gaze turned into a hard-suspicious glare. "Kara-" Maggie started. "No, I don't want to hear anything that comes out of your mouth right now, Maggie. I don't really give a fuck what you think. The last time you spoke to me, I do believe that you thought that I was 'siding' with the Luthors. I'm not. And I'm going to save my sister. Unlike what you are planning to do. Which is  _nothing._ " I verbalized. J'onn took a step closer to me.

"Kara." He spoke quietly. My eyes shot over to him. " _Whaat_?" I drew out. "Maybe you should sit this one out." He stated. I took in a breath. "I think that you're too close to this. Your emotions are controlling you. You need to calm down." J'onn elaborated. "No! Lex has my sister! I won't rest until I have her back! There is  _nothing_  you can do to stop me." I declared.

Suddenly, a strong force hit me, and I slid away from the group. I looked up to see Mon-El standing where I stood. I pulled myself up and got ready to fight. "You can't stop me, you stuck-up frat boy." I purred dangerously. "Kara, you don't want to do this. You're not acting rationally." Mon-El stated as he got closer. "Oh, I am. It's all of you that aren't. We have a chance to go and save Alex from Lex! And none of you are seizing the opportunity!" I argued.

Mon-El got close enough to me and I swung. My fist connected with his jaw and he was sent flying backwards. "Kara! Stand down!" J'onn commanded and everyone took cover. Mon-El raced back over and swung at me. I ducked and swiped at his feet. He fell to the ground. I placed my knee on his chest, holding him down. "Kara, please!" Mon-El begged. I landed one solid punch before another force hit me. I was tackled to the ground and pinned there. I looked up to see J'onn's Martian form. "Let go of me!" I shouted. I brought J'onn up into the air, before pushing back down and letting him hit the ground first.

He groaned and released me. Mon-El attacked me from behind and held me in a head lock. I flipped him over my shoulder. He slammed down on the ground. There was a blast and I fell to the ground. Before I blacked out, saw Winn holding a gun above me, and it glowed. Bright green.


	13. Chapter 13

Voices echoed around me as I slowly came to. My head pounded. I slowly got up and noticed that I was in a containment unit. I looked out from my cell and saw J'onn and Mon-El standing there. Mon-El had his arms crossed. His face was black and purple and his lip was split. "I told you that you couldn't stop me." I smirked. He clenched his jaw. "But it seems you're in containment." He stated smugly. "Yes, I may be here, but you couldn't take me by yourself. It took the Martian and a kryptonite gun to take me down. Pathetic." I stated. Mon-El's smug look disappeared. I looked away from him. J'onn stepped forward.

"You better let me out, Martian, or you'll regret it." I growled. "Kara, we believe that you've been subjected to Red Kryptonite again. While you were out, we tried to use the antidote from last time, but it didn't work. It seems that it only enhanced the reaction your body has with the synthetic K. We're still trying to work on a cure-" J'onn started. I laughed manically and smiled deviously. "No, ohh no, there was no Red K. This is simply me. You're just trying to blame it on the Red K because you don't believe that this is me. The  _real_ me."

J'onn stared me down, but I didn't falter. "You expect that to scare  _me_?" I asked and scoffed. I walked back over to my bench and sat down. J'onn took an extra second of looking at me before walking away. I smiled at Mon-El. "Something the matter,  _pretty boy?"_  I taunted. There was something echoing in the back of my mind, but I ignored it. "Kara, don't worry. We will fix this. I know that this isn't you, I know that you wouldn't dare try to hurt those men after they surrendered. It'll be okay. Everything will be back to normal soon." He looked at me with soft and loving eyes.

I clenched my jaw and went back over to the glass. "You don't know me at all,  _Mon-El_. You don't know what I've been through in my entire life. You've only been on Earth for a short time. You don't get to think that we are at all similar. You were, and still are, the overprivileged Daxam Prince who believes that he deserves the world. And I want you to get it through your thick skull, that we will never  _ever_  be together. I don't care if we may be the last two non-related people from Krypton and Daxam, but I would rather let our species die out than to be with  _you_." He took in a breath and chewed his lip.

"I know that this is just the Red K talking. Everything will be back to normal. Everything will be okay." He repeated dejectedly, knowing that I was right. I could see tears glisten in his eyes. Anger raced through my body as he spoke. " _Nothing_  will be alright.  _Nothing_  will be normal until we get Alex back!" I pounded on the glass. It buckled under my strength, but did not break.

I could see the faintest green glow around my cell. They were only dampening my powers, not taking them away completely.

"But you, Maggie, and the Martian would rather wait it out that take a risk to  _save my sister_!" I heard the door open and Maggie walked through. She looked at Mon-El, who turned on a dime and walked away from me. I smirked at sat back down on my seat. I turned to my side and kicked my feet up on the other side of the seat. I knew Maggie was staring at me, but I paid no attention to her. Instead, I inspected my nails. "Kara." She called.

I ignored her. "Kara." She called again. I finally glanced up to her. "Oh, were you talking to me?" I asked mockingly. She crossed her arms. "Yes, I was." She answered. "What do you want?" I asked. "I wanted to see how you were." She stated. I laughed. "Oho please, I know you don't really care for me. I know that you only pretend that you do because I'm Alex's sister." I pointed out. The sound echoed in my mind again. Irritation ran down my spine, but I shook it off.

Maggie frowned. "Kara, please." She started. "No, like I said before, I don't care what you say." I huffed and looked back down to my hand. Maggie took a step closer to the cell. "Kara, no. It's not like that. Please let me explain. I-"

I cut her off. "Oh, I think you've said  _quite enough_  to me lately. I'm tired of your constant criticizing of my actions as Supergirl, and the unnecessary jabs at Lena. Do you know how hard it is to have two lives? I must always make sure that I can't have anyone associate the two together, otherwise everyone I love is in jeopardy, that includes you. I constantly have to live with the fact that I could be the reason why anyone I love could be killed. And that's on  _me_ , and me alone. It's a balancing act that I have to go through every day. Do you know how hard it is when I'm at work, and I hear someone crying for help? Or when I'm at CatCo, and I see the news. I wish I could just bolt out, right then and there, so I can save valuable time. But no, I have to make some excuse, wait for the perfect time to get out. So yes, maybe I destroy property once in a while, but I can be saving a life, or stopping a robbery as I do so. I'd rather do that then let someone else suffer." I stood up next to the glass and glared at Maggie.

I clenched my fist tightly. "And Lena's trying her best. She doesn't have an evil bone in her body, yet you think its okay to attack her verbally just because of her name? Do you know how hard she works? How much good she tries to do in order to get people just to look at her like a normal person, instead of the sister of Lex Luthor? Because I do." My voice shook with anger. "I've seen her in tears, I've felt the backlash she's received over the years just because of a stupid last name. The smallest, most insignificant misstep will constantly be thrown back in her face. The last person she needs the abuse from is  _you_." I took a breath.

Maggie's mouth was opening and closing as she tried to find the words. I waited for second before I decided that she wasn't going to speak. I smirked. "You can leave now. I don't need you standing there. I've seen a lot of fish with the open mouth thing. And I've got to say, it looks more attractive on the  _fish_." I turned around pretentiously.

I heard the door open and close. I smiled to myself, but the echo now was followed by a soft pang of pain going through my heart. I furrowed my eyebrows for a second, but the pain disappeared. I shrugged it off.

Again, I heard the door open and close. I looked over my shoulder and saw Lena. I smiled seductively. "Hey babe." I started as I turned around. Lena, instead of reciprocating, stood strong and silent. Her green eyes watched me dangerously. The smile disappeared. "Something wrong?" I asked. "This isn't you, Kara." She said simply. I frowned. "Oh, but it is Lena. This is me, unfiltered and raw. This is me at my best." I stated darkly.

Lena shook her head. "No, it isn't. You, Kara Danvers at your best, is when you sacrifice yourself for others. Kara Danvers at her best is when she encourages her loved ones. Kara Danvers at her best is when she's there for others, even if they think they should be on their own.  _That_  is Kara Danvers at her best. Not this. Whatever it is."

I held my head high and crossed my arms. "Well this is me now. Get used to it." I replied. Lena only stared at me, her eyes evaluating me. "Maybe I don't want to be Kara Danvers anymore." I stated. Lena swallowed. "Then I don't want you anymore." She stated, her voice hard as steel. I gritted my teeth. "Fine. That's how it is then." I confirmed. I could see tears forming in her eyes. My body screamed in protest and the echo became clear.  _Kara, come on! I need stop it! This isn't me! Fight it! It's the Red Kryptonite! I'm being poisoned! Please! I don't want to do this again!_

My head felt like it was being split with an axe. I held my temples as I stumbled back. Lena spoke, but I didn't hear her. I clenched my jaw as the pain increased. My nails dug into my scalp.  _That's it Kara! Come on! I can do this! Come on!_

Another side fought back and the pain went away. I took a shaky breath before standing up straight and looking at Lena. Terror was written on her face. "Kara?" She asked cautiously as she looked at me expectantly. I raised my eyebrow. " _What_?" I snapped.

Her shoulders dropped. "I'm so sorry for doing this." She stated. "What are you talking-" I watched as Lena walked over to the control panel on my door and pulled out a vial of red liquid. The green glow in my cell increased rapidly and I fell to my knees, weak. I panted as nausea crashed over me in waves. I heard the cell door open. I glanced up from the floor to see Lena approaching me with a large needle. "No!" I gasped. I looked away from her to the open door.  _Escape._  I reached one arm out to pull myself up. I stumbled ever so closer to the door. My heart was beating in my chest and my legs shook. The pain was echoing in my head, but I was more focused on escape than the pain.  _Self-preservation_ , my mind told me. I shook my head and looked up from the ground.  _Did I fall?_ In the near distance, I could see a few blurry figures watching.

I hand reached out and grabbed my arm. I pulled weakly, but the hand held on. I felt the needle pierce my skin on the crook of my arm and I winced. "I'm so sorry." Lena whispered. Coldness started in my arm and spread throughout my body. I gaged as it raced through my body. I pulled myself up and pushed the person that was standing in the doorway to the ground. Something caught my foot and I was sent to the ground just outside the cell. The coldness evaporated before I blacked out.

I woke up again. My head throbbed and I reached up to hold my forehead, but my arms wouldn't move. I glanced down and saw my arms were restrained. So were my legs and torso. I placed my aching head back on the table. The wires attached to my temples moved and I could feel the electrodes attached to my body. In the background, I could hear my heartrate monitor.

Déjà vu reminded me of the first time I was poisoned by Red Kryptonite. I bit my lip as everything I said to Maggie, Lena, Mon-El, and the others came to my mind. Tears blurred my vision. I pulled at the restraints with no intentions to break them. I closed my eyes and let the tears slip.

How could any of them forgive me?

How could I ever forgive myself? I promised that I wouldn't let this happen again. And yet, here I am again. And I hurt even more people than last time.  _Rao forgive me._

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

"Rao. Alex!" I searched around for the clock. It was ticking away in the corner of the med bay. That couldn't be right. Alex only had 2 hours left, I was poisoned for too long. I pulled at the restraints again. And instead of finding her, here I am tied down like a criminal.  _Because you are._  I bit my lip harder.


	14. Chapter 14

"You're up. How are you feeling?" Dr. Hamilton asked. "Horrible. I'm a monster." I answered quietly. Dr. Hamilton held my hand. "None of this is your fault."

"How could you say that? I hurt people. I attacked them. Again! I'm pretty sure that's how you classify a monster." I spat guilty. She squeezed my hand. "Kara, it wasn't your fault. It was Rick." She pointed out. "What?" Dr. Hamilton sat down. "After we realized you were poisoned again, we scanned all locations that you visited and couldn't find anything. So, we moved the investigation to inside the DEO. As you have spent a lot of time here looking for Alex. Rick was a hotspot of the Red Kryptonite. He was wearing a small necklace with the Kryptonite as its gem, as well as pieces of Kryptonite were embedded under his skin. We even scanned his home and found large amounts buried under the floorboards. He's been subjecting you to large amounts of Kryptonite." She explained.

My heart clenched and I swallowed deeply. "Oh." I didn't know what else to say. "We confiscated all the Kryptonite and scanned the DEO again. Everything is cleared and you're safe." She stated. "Then why-" I pulled at the restraints to emphasize them. "Precautions. The first time you were out, we tried to use the cure we had from last time, but it was ineffective. If anything, it enhanced the effects on you." She started to undo my restraints. "We wanted to make sure that this cure worked before letting you go."

I sat up after the rest of my restraints were removed. "Shouldn't you have made sure that I was cured before you let me go?" I asked. She smiled at me. "What do you think these were for?" She stated as she removed the electrodes on my temples.

I looked down to my hands. "How are you feeling physically? You took a nasty spill after the second cure was injected." She stated. "My head hurt when I first woke up, but I feel better now." I answered. She pointed to the solar panels around me.

I glanced down to where the cure was injected. There was a small purple dot on my skin above my vein. "How is everyone else?" I asked timidly. "Fine. They don't blame you." Dr. Hamilton stated. "They should." I whispered to myself. "Kara, please don't do this to yourself again-"

Tick.

Tick.

I didn't want to start this conversation again. "What's the progress on Alex?" I diverted the conversation. Dr. Hamilton stared at me for a second, sensing my discomfort. "Not good. But I think you should talk to J'onn about that." She stated before walking out of the med bay.

I walked cautiously to the control room. As I made my way there, I could see the damage I caused. I bowed my head slightly and avoided eye contact with the agents. I saw Mon-El, J'onn, and Winn in the center of the room, talking. Winn was the first to notice me. The other two men looked over after they noticed Winn was no longer in the conversation. All three of them looked at me apprehensively.

I stopped about 10 feet away from them. "Mon-El- J'onn-Winn-" I tried, but I couldn't find the right words. I chewed my lip and looked down. "I'm sorry." I whispered. After a second, someone grabbed me in a hug. I looked up and saw that Winn was holding me tight. "It's okay Kara." He whispered in my ear. "We all forgive you." He added. I smiled and hugged him a little tighter.

I pulled away from him. "Why though?" I asked. "The last time you were poisoned, we didn't support you, we weren't there for you, and it really hurt you. We don't want you to go through that same hurt again." J'onn answered. "We love you, Kar." Winn stated. I smiled. "Thank you."

Tick.

Tick.

I walked over to the control panel as seriousness overcame my body and my smile disappeared. "What's the news on Alex?" I asked. Mon-El and Winn exchanged a glance. "Not good." Mon-El stated. "What happened?" I asked again. "After you were locked up, your words got to Maggie. She went and tried to save Alex with the location that we had, but it was a trap. Rick arranged it so that if we went to the false location, then Alex's cells would start filling up with water. She only has 1 hour and 23 minutes before she runs out of air, unless we break Rick's father out." Winn explained.

My stomach dropped. "Do we have any leads?" I asked. Mon-El shook his head. "No. Nothing." He stated. "Where's Maggie now?" I questioned. "She's with Lena in one of the meeting rooms. Maggie took it hard after she realized what she has done." J'onn stated.

"Have you tried to tell her it wasn't her fault?" I asked. Mon-El nodded. "Yes, but she wouldn't listen and now will only talk with Lena. They closed themselves off from us." He explained. "I'm going to talk to them. Let me know if anything changes." I stated.

I went up to the room were Maggie and Lena locked themselves in. I knocked on the door, but there was no answer. I used my x ray and saw that the room was empty. I rushed back down to the others. "They're not there." I declared. Winn turned around and typed away on the computer. "Their phones are here, I have no other way to track them." He stated.

I thought for a second. "Albatross Bay." I rushed out of the DEO and jumped into the sky. I ran down the halls after sneaking in. There, I found Lena and Maggie jogging down the halls with Peter. "Move it." I heard Lena command. "Nice gun." He commentated. "It's my girlfriend's." Maggie stated. I rounded the corner. "Maggie, you know Alex wouldn't want you to do this." I stated. "Supergirl?" They seemed surprised to see me. "All I care about is getting her back alive." Maggie answered. "This isn't the way, Maggie. And you know it." I said.

I turned my attention to Peter. "Do you know what kind of words your son's been using? Words like 'rescue', and 'love'. He says he wants to rescue you, like you rescued him. But if he kills Alex Danvers, he'll never be rescued. He'll have to live with that for the rest of his life. And that'll be his hell. Now, you've done a lot of bad things in your life, but you've done one thing you can be proud of. You were a father. A good one. You were there for your son during the toughest time of his life, and that's what you need to do again now. If he kills her, you will have failed at the one good thing you've done with your life. Be a father now." I tried to reason with him.

Lena's phone beeped and showed it to us. "She's out of time."

"Please, is there anywhere he would have taken her?" I pleaded. Peter sighed. "There's one place. It's where I used to take him to let off steam. It's the old steel mill factory on Jameson and Snow." He stated. I grabbed Lena and Maggie, as I couldn't leave them there to be caught, and jumped into the sky as soon as we got outside.

We landed down and ran into the mill. We all called out for her.

"Alex?"

"Alex?"

"Can you hear us?"

We ran around a large steel wall and saw the tank holding Alex. She was sinking down in the water, unmoving. "NO!" I shouted and flew forward. I shattered the glass with my fist and it broke open. The water spilled over the floor and Alex came out. We all rushed to her side. "She's not breathing!" Lena exclaimed. Maggie started CPR. "Come on Alex. Hold on." I stated. Lena and I watched as Maggie continued. I closed my eyes and listened intently, waiting to hear her heart beat again.

At first, I thought I heard it, but I realized after the second beat that it was a different person. "Someone's here with us." I stated. I grabbed Alex's gun from Maggie's side and handed it to Lena. "Guard her." I commanded and stood up. I slowly started to search before I heard coughing and hacking. I turned my attention away from the darkened mill and back to Alex. She was on her side, coughing the water out of her lungs.

I kneeled back down at her side and took her hand. "Hey, hey, hey. Alex, you're okay. You held on." I cooed. She smiled weakly with her eyes closed. "Y-yeah. I held on." She whispered. Maggie kissed her forehead.

There was slow clapping in the distances. We all froze and looked up to the emerging figure. It stopped just before the light. "Lex?" Lena asked. "No, like I said before. Lex would be very insulted if he knew that you thought of me to be him." The voice stated. I furrowed my eyebrows. "Then who are you?" I called. "I told you. A long time friend."

Finally, all the dots connected. "Maxwell Lord." I growled. He stepped out into the light. "And we have a winner! Good job Supergirl." He stated mockingly. "Lord? That doesn't make any sense." Maggie stated as she clutched Alex a little tighter. His dark eyes rolled over to her. "Maggie Sawyer, the cop girlfriend. Alex must be  _so fucking happy_  with you." He smiled his sickly-sweet smile. "Why are you working with my brother?" Lena asked.

He laughed. "Why not? I've always been one to promote change in the world. Lex is granting me that opportunity. Like I've said before, Supergirl lulls us into complacency. She fools us into thinking she'll save us and renders us incapable of saving ourselves. With your brother helping me, I can prove that we don't need Supergirl, Superman, or any of these other 'heroes'. Y'know, you really should've listened to me when you had the chance. But looked at what you caused instead, Supergirl." He gestured to Alex.

I stood up angrily. "Ah, ah, ah. I wouldn't do that." He snapped his fingers. Red dots landed on all four of us. "There are about 20 different shooters around this mill, ready to take their shot." He stated. "Oh, and of course for you, Supergirl, I made some  _special_  bullets." He threw a green bullet at me. I caught it before dropping it like a hot potato. "How? The DEO had all the Kryptonite wares." Lena pointed out.

"I've made synthetic Kryptonite a few times. And you had the pleasure to test out my latest batch. I take it you're feeling better?" He teased. I clenched my fist. "I don't understand, why was Rick involved?" Maggie asked.

"He was simply a pawn. Him, and his father were. It didn't quite go the way we planned, but it was a great distraction none the less. All the way down to the wire. Alex is lucky to be alive. It worked out though." Max stated. "What do you want from us then?" I asked. "Just Lena." He stated. "What?" I questioned. "You heard me. We only want Lena. We get her, you, Maggie, and Alex can leave safely." Max proposed.

I bit my cheek. "You better hurry and decide. That water was a bit chilly, and hypothermia is a bitch." I glanced down to Alex's shaking form. Her lips were turning blue. I looked up to Lena; her green eyes were calculating. "I'll go." Lena stated. I shook my head. "No, Lena I can- you can't-" I rambled. She reached across Alex and grabbed my hand. "It'll be okay, babe. It's just Lex. I'll be fine. And I bet I can deal with Mr. Ego just fine." She tried to give me a reassuring smile, but it only made my heart sink. "Lena-" I tried to reason with her, but she already walked over to Max.


	15. Chapter 15

"Lena! Wait!" I called out. Max smiled deviously at Lena before smirking at me. "Good choice." He called to her as she was escorted away by a tall man. Max then turned his attention to me. "I'd advise you to take care of your sister." He stated before disappearing into the shadows. I swallowed harshly and went to follow them, but the red dots brought me back to my senses. Alex groaned and my heart froze. I rushed back over to her side.

"Alex? I need you to hold on just for a bit longer. Okay? Can you do that?" I asked. She nodded weakly. "O-kay." Maggie looked over to me, lost and worried that we were still being held here. I noticed that during my conversation with Max, that Maggie had stripped Alex of almost all her wet clothes, with the exception of some to keep her decency. I went to pull Alex out of Maggie's arms and into mine, but Maggie started to protest. "I'm warmer than any human, and if what Max was saying is true, then we can't risk her becoming hypothermic." I reasoned.

Despite knowing that she was freezing, Alex was deathly still. She wasn't shivering at all. The coldness from her body made its way to my heart. Her body was way past the point of trying to shiver to get warm. I pulled my cape off and wrapped her in it. She curled into a ball and I held her close to me. "It's okay, Alex. Just hold on." I repeated. Alex's fingers curled around the fabric of my suit as her body battled the cold. My heart ached as Alex felt twice as small and fragile in my arms. "Why are we still being held here? Max got Lena." Maggie asked, with tears brimming as she watched Alex intently.

"Probably to make sure that we won't follow them. The longer we're here, the further away they get, and the worse Alex is. He knows that I wouldn't risk Alex's life like that and he'll be too far away for you to try and follow him in a car you'll probably hotwire or confiscate for 'police' matters." I stated. Maggie clenched her jaw impatiently. I only held Alex closer to me and continued to monitor her heartbeat.

We stayed there for what seemed like an eternity in the warehouse, waiting for the shooters to let us leave. Alex started to squirm in my arms, like she wanted to get away. Her heart was beating way too fast compared to a few minutes ago. "Too- hot-" She panted.

I raised my eyebrow. "What? That can't be right." I stated. "She must've been closer to hypothermia than we anticipated. When people are losing too much heat, our bodies induce vasoconstriction, the reflexive contraction of blood vessels. But over time, the muscles necessary for inducing vasoconstriction become exhausted and fail, causing warm blood to rush from the core to the extremities. It creates a kind of 'hot flash' that makes people feel as though they're burning up, so they try to remove themselves from the heat source. We need to get her back to the DEO,  _now_." Maggie explained.

For the first time in a long time, a miracle happened. The lasers on our bodies disappeared. Alex whimpered in my arms as I stood up. "Will you be okay here? I can fly faster with only one." I stated. "Yes, get her to the DEO. But come back for me." Maggie stated.

I took to the skies as quickly, but as cautiously as I could. I landed down in the DEO and rushed off to the med bay. "HAMILTON!" I shouted as I placed Alex on a bed. Dr. Hamilton rushed over. "Agent Danvers? You found her! What happened?" She asked. "She lost consciousness because she almost drowned. I think she's hypothermic." I stated. Dr. Hamilton nodded before shoeing me away with a statement that didn't help my nerves. "Get defib paddles ready!"

I rushed back out and was ready to take back to the skies, but J'onn stopped me. "Supergirl, what happened? Where's Alex?" He asked. "S-she's in the med bay. It wasn't Lex that kidnapped her. Well, n-not directly. But I got to go. Maggie-" I stuttered, fear lacing into my voice.

Winn rushed over to us. "What does that mean?" He asked. "I have to get M-Maggie back first." I stated before jumping back into the sky.

I landed down in the mill and found Maggie waiting for me. I held my hand out. "Ready?" I asked. She looked at my hand hesitantly. "I'm still not a fan of flying." She grumbled as I picked her up. Her arms wrapped around me tightly as I rushed back to the DEO.

We landed down after one of my quickest flights, not including the trip Alex and I just made, to the DEO. Maggie seemed shaken by it, but tried to play it off. "Supergirl, Sawyer, I'm going to need an explanation as to what exactly happened." J'onn said while using his authoritative voice. "It's not just Lex we need to worry about." Maggie summarized poorly.

"What?"

J'onn looked to me for clarification. "She means that he isn't working alone! Our  _dear friend_ , Maxwell Lord, is his partner-minion- whatever he is. The point is, they are on the same side. Lord hired Rick to get Alex. Rick, his father, the Red Kryptonite, it was all planned! Max and Lex planned it! They wanted us distracted!" I elaborated hotly. "Why? That doesn't make any sense." Mon-El pointed out as he joined us. I bit my lip and looked away.

Winn was the first to notice. "Where's Lena?" He asked. "Max and Lex wanted Lena." Maggie explained for me. "Did they say why?" J'onn asked. Maggie shook her head. "Does it  _matter_  why or not? There was a choice between either bringing Alex back here or keeping Lena with us, and I hesitated! I could cause Alex to- to-" Hamilton's words echoed in my mind.  _Get defib paddles ready_! I swallowed and regained my composure. "And who knows what they are doing to Lena." I whispered the last part. No one was focused on what I was saying anymore, and I was relieved. I needed space.

"That must explain how Lex got out of Albatross Bay! I bet-" Winn's voice became more and more faint as I quietly walked off. I sat down in the room with my mother's hologram. "Hello Kara." She greeted. "Not, now. I just need silence." I stated. "Of course, my daughter." She stated before disappearing.

" _Rao forgive me for what I have done and didn't do. Forgive me for my mistakes and for the misfortune I have caused onto others. Let Alex live. Protect Lena. Protect my family, protect the innocent. Your will be done._ " I prayed in Kryptonian as I kneeled down. I bowed my head and rubbed my mother's necklace as I stayed in silence.

" _You are forgiven as Rao forgives all of us. He forgives us when we believe we should not be forgiven, gives us strength when we have none, and even in the darkest places, he guides us with His Light. For Rao sees all, feels all. His love eternal. Rao protects us, so that we might protect others. And we shall rise, a fire in His heart, burning and free."_  A voice stated in Kryptonian. I looked over my shoulder to see Mon-El.

He gave me a small smile as he kneeled down beside me. Guilt ate at my stomach as I could see hints of our fight on his face. "Mon-El, I'm so sorry. I don't know-" He grabbed my hand and squeezed it gently. "It's okay Kara. I know that it wasn't your fault. Winn and J'onn explained what Red Kryptonite does to you. I forgive you." He whispered.

"But then you must know that I've thought about every mean thing I said to you." I interjected. "Hey, we both have thought some mean things about each other. It was a rocky start between you and me, remember? I do recall you throwing my ass around the Mount Pride Observatory." He pointed out. A ghost of a smile crept to my lips. "Yeah, but that doesn't excuse what I said. So, I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, I'm sorry."

He smiled at me. "It's okay, Kara. I forgive you." He rubbed my shoulder soothingly. I let go of my necklace and sighed. "Thank you."

"Hey, Hamilton said that Alex is stable. Her heart stayed strong the entire time and never faltered. She's probably awake and looking for you." Mon-El informed me. "That quickly?" I asked. He nodded. "Yeah, they were prepared. Hamilton got her on a warmed IV line as soon as you brought her here. That, with the warmed blankets, the dry clothes, and some warm fluids for Alex to drink, her temperature only rose. She's almost back to 94 degrees, and it's still going strong." He pointed out and stood up. He looked down to me. "Aren't you coming?" He asked. "In a bit. I know that Maggie will be happy to be alone with Alex." I stated.

Mon-El nodded before walking out of the room. I waited a few more minutes in silence before finally heading to the med bay.

I could see Maggie and Alex talking. They were holding onto each other tightly and Maggie was leaning in close. I stayed outside the med bay. "You didn't let me finish before, but I, um-" Alex started softly. "What?" Maggie asked. "I just really have to say it now." Alex shifted up to a sitting position and some blankets fell away from her shoulders.

Maggie leaned away slightly to give Alex room. "Alex, careful." She warned protectively. "It's okay, it's okay." Alex breathed. Maggie gave a small smile. "Okay."

There was a momentary silence. "Those firsts that you talked about. I want to have them all with you. I never want to stop having firsts with you. I love you, Maggie Sawyer." Alex brushed hair behind Maggie's ear.

I could see tears in Maggie's eyes as she smiled brightly at Alex. "I love you, Alex Danvers." She whispered.

Alex smiled shyly at Maggie. "Yeah?" She asked. "Yeah." Maggie leaned in for a kiss. I smiled to myself. They pulled away and Alex leaned into Maggie's shoulder. I turned around and walked away to the control room. Mon-El and J'onn were standing there waiting for me. "Hey." I greeted softly. I looked to J'onn with caution. "J'onn. I'm so sorry-" He held his hand up. "There are no apologies needed Kara. I understand that it was not your fault. All you wanted to do was save Alex." J'onn said.

"What about me?" I heard Alex say as she and Maggie walked up to us. "She refused to stay in bed." Maggie informed. "Are you sure you're all right?" Mon-El asked. "I'm all right. Hamilton said a little movement would be good." Alex confirmed. "You did good, Alex. You too, Maggie." J'onn stated as he grabbed both of them in a hug. Alex smiled and pulled away. "I just did what you taught me to do."

A few agents, Winn, and Rick walked by before Rick stopped in front of Alex. "Oh. You survived." He stated flatly. "You do not get to talk to her." I growled and stood between them. He looked over to me and I could see a bit of fear in his eyes. "Not so cocky now that you're bargaining chip is here, are you Rick?" I asked under my breath for only him to hear. "What are you going to do to him?" Winn asked J'onn. "My job. Protect the identity of Supergirl and the DEO." He answered.

"You're gonna mind-wipe him?" Alex questioned. "Do you object?" J'onn looked to her. Alex shook her head. "No. Just Before you do make sure he remembers this." She stepped in front of me and landed a solid punch to his face. He recoiled and covered his now gushing nose.

They took Rick away and Maggie pulled me to the side. "How are you?" She asked. "I'm fine. I think that's a question you need to be asking Alex." I joked. She laughed lightly, before the smile disappeared from her face. "I'm sorry about Lena." She stated. "Don't worry about it. I  _will_ find her. And it's not like she can't handle things by herself." I stated confidently. "I know, but I want you to know that I'll be there to help you if you need it." She stated. "Thank you, Maggie."

She smiled again. "Actually, I think I'm the one who should be thanking you."

"Thank me? For what?" I asked. "I was so afraid of losing her that I wasn't thinking. It ended up hurting you. And I almost-" I cut her off. "It's fine. She's here, she's safe. And now we have one piece of the puzzle solved. You did the right thing. And that was all you." I pointed out. She looked up to my eyes.

"You and me made a pretty good team, didn't we?" She stated. I nodded. "Well, we both love her." Maggie raised her eyebrow. "I heard you and Alex talking in the med bay a while ago." I answered her unasked question. "Yeah. We do." She agreed.

There was an uncomfortable silence between us. "Maggie, what I said to you earlier when I was in my cell, it wasn't right. I know that there is no way to fix what I said, but I want you to know that I will do anything to make it up to you." I stated. "You already did. You saved her, and you helped me do the correct thing." Maggie held her hand out. "What? No, get in here." I pulled her in for a hug and she laughed.

Maggie walked away from me. I turned around and started to walk out to the balcony. I rested my forearms on the concrete wall. I took a deep breath and listened for Lena's heartbeat. Cars, sirens, parties, trains. Everything besides her heartbeat. "Where are you?" I asked out loud. Alex's heartbeat was close to me. I could hear it speed up as she walked through the destroyed DEO atrium.

"Hey." Alex greeted quietly. I glanced over to her before turning to face her. "Hey, how are you feeling?" I asked. "Better now." She answered and pulled the jacket closer to her body as a small breeze whipped around us. "I'd assume so, that punch sounded like it hurt him badly." I joked lightly. Alex smiled and flexed her hand. "It better have. My knuckles are going to be sore for a few days, and I don't want it to be in vain." She teased and we both laughed.

It was silent between the both of us for a few minutes. I continued to stare out over the skyline. "Maggie told me what happened." Alex started. I stayed quiet. "Kara, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry that they got Lena. We'll do everything we can to find her. It'll be okay." She held my hand softly.

I waited in silence a little longer before speaking. "I assume that Maggie didn't tell you everything." I stated. "What are you talking about?" She questioned. "You didn't notice the damage?" I asked, slightly bitter. "What are you- yeah. I did." She started to lie before she corrected herself.

She tried to look into my eyes. "What happened? Did Lex attack?" She asked. I shook my head. "No, he didn't. I did." I whispered. " _What?"_

I took a heavy breath. "I attacked J'onn and Mon-El. I destroyed the DEO." I stated. "Why?" She asked. I bit my lip. "Kara?" She asked. It felt like someone had suddenly turned on an internal heater inside my body. The warmth had now bloomed into a full blown, sweltering heat wave bursting through my pores and triggering the waterfalls in my eyes.

My breaths were short and fast. My heart finally started thumping again. However, it was too erratic for my liking, triggering me to drop Alex's hand and stay in my own judging silence. The hot ball of guilt had sunk into my stomach and now it was on the verge of an explosion. I wanted to escape, but I knew Alex wouldn't let me leave. "Kryptonite. Red Kryptonite." I answered reluctantly. Embarrassment coursed through my veins and I looked away from Alex's dark eyes.

I expected Alex to give me the same restrained and detached look she gave me when I woke up after my first round with the Kryptonite. Instead, something unexpected happened. Alex wrapped her arms around me and held me tightly. "Oh baby girl, it's okay." She whispered in my ear. Her hands ran through my hair gently.

I cried into her shirt. "Shh, Kar. It's okay." She soothed. I tried to pull away. "It's not. I said terrible things to everyone. I attacked our own family. I promised to be more careful, to not get poisoned again. B-but I broke it." I whimpered.

Alex loosened her grip on me slightly. Her warm eyes stared into mine lovingly. "It was not your fault. We should've been more vigilant. We should've caught it sooner. No one blames you, Kar. We all love you and nothing is going to change that." She pulled me back into a hug. "E-even if I don't regret what I said to them when they didn't want to save you?"


	16. Chapter 16

"What?" I pulled away from Alex coldly.

"The last time I was poisoned, I felt trapped in my own body. It was so horrible, Alex. To see myself inflict this onto my loved ones. Like last time, all my bad thoughts came to the surface. I couldn't stop it. I had no control, like I possessed. My body forced me to say those horrid words to everyone. To you. But as soon as I realized they were going to wait to rescue you, something changed. It wasn't like last time. I knew that I could stop myself, but I didn't want to. I was angry, Alex. So-just- just-  _angry_. It felt like my blood was boiling. I wanted to say those things _. I wanted to. And I wasn't going to stop_." I confessed. Shame choked me and I closed my eyes. Alex pulled me back into her warm grasp and I broke down.

Finally, my tears stopped flowing. Alex reached up and wiped away the last tear running down my cheek. "Kara, I don't blame you and I never will, but why didn't you try to fight back those feelings? Fight against the Red Kryptonite when you knew you had some control?"

I swallowed thickly. "I don't know. The anger just overtook me. My senses felt like they were being overloaded by all that rage. I think that no matter what state of mind I am in, I will always,  _always_  do what I have to, to protect us. You've done so much for me in your life, I guess it was one thing that the Red Kryptonite couldn't mess with." I took in a deep breath before sighing heavily.

"But I just can't shake the feeling of all that anger inside me, and how I let it control what I did. I mean, we knew your location, but they wanted me to wait here. They didn't want to take action right away. I was angry that they were going to let you stay and suffer. I was afraid that you were going to get hurt if we didn't act quick. And I was  _right."_  I spat and the ledge under my hands crumbled pathetically. "Hey, no, no. You don't know that. It was Rick. He was twisted." Alex grabbed my hands gently as she tried to calm me down.

"No, it wasn't just Rick. The reason the Lex escaped, the reason I was poisoned, the reason why he hasn't been caught yet is because he's been working with Lord." I explained. "What? Lord is manipulative, but he isn't evil." Alex commented. "No, not anymore. Lord decided to step up his game, and he thinks that Lex is the key to success." I stated. Alex shook her head. "That's crazy."

I looked down to my hands. "Tell me about it." I breathed. She reached up and tucked a hair behind my ear. "Kara, we will get through this, okay? We will take down Lex and Lord. We will find Lena." She comforted. "Thanks, but I know it isn't that easy." I stated before turning around. She grabbed my arm. "Hey, but we're in this together. Okay?" I took a breath and nodded. "Okay."

Days turned into weeks without Lena. It was soon going to be a month without her, and my heart ached. I relentlessly searched for any sign of her, of Lex, or of Lord, even Cadmus, but I had no luck. They had seemingly fallen of the face of the planet. But I still tried. I had the DEO, Maggie with all her resources, and a few aliens from the bar trying to help me locate her. As more time went on, doubt started to plant itself in my mind. I knew that Lena was strong and smart, but time started to alter my thoughts.

* * *

I walked into the control room. "Kara, NCPD just reported that there is jumper on the roof of L-Corp." Winn reported. I gave a curt nod before taking off. I landed down softly and saw the man standing on the edge of the building. "Sir, please, you don't want to do this." I stated softly. He didn't turn around. I cautiously walked closer to him. He glanced over to me. "Leave me alone." He growled.

I shook my head. "You know I can't do that. Please step away from the ledge." I said. He looked back down to the ground so far below us. "You don't understand. I lost everything. There is nothing for me anymore on Earth. I don't deserve to be alive." He stated shakily. I could hear his heart pounding. "I will not understand your problems. I know that. But I want you to know something. I lost everything too. I lost all my loved ones. My parents, friends, family. When I lost them, I thought I didn't deserve to live. I thought that anyone else should've survived besides me. Life went on, and it was so painful. But then I met new people, those who took me in, cared for me, and loved me."

He took a step away from the ledge. "Why are you telling me this?" His voice broke and tears were running down his face. "Because I want you to know that people care about you. I thought that I was all alone. I thought that there was nothing for me on Earth either, but you, and everyone else on this planet gave me a reason to live." He shook his head and looked back to the ground. "That's different, you're Supergirl. Everyone loves you." He spat angrily. I sighed. "I'm not only Supergirl. I struggle, I suffer, I love. I'm no different from you."

He shook his head harder and took another step to the ledge. "No, I don't have anyone. I'm just a nobody." He cried. I used my x ray vision and saw his name on his ID through his pocket. "You're wrong."

He turned around quickly. "How could you  _possibly_ say that?!" Angry tears ran down his face. He panted heavily. "Because you have me, Mark."

Mark's eyes widened. "Wh- _what?_  How do you know- _"_  He gasped. "If you say that you have no one, then I will be there." I stated. He smiled before dropping to his knees. I rushed forward and steadied him before he completely fell down. I could feel him shaking against me. He sobbed and clutched onto my cape. I rubbed his back. "It's okay, Mark. It's okay." I looked down and saw that he had passed out. I gently picked him up and flew him to the hospital.

After the doctors took Mark in, I flew over the city, doing my daily scan for Lena. In an alleyway, I saw two men lurking. I hovered overhead, waiting to see what they were doing. They pulled on their ski masks and lifted up their guns. I lowered myself down and one of the men looked up to me fearfully. I raised my eyebrows and looked to their guns. "I can see that you have no bullets in your guns." I stated.

They looked to each other and then back to me. "We're just…sorry." One man stated. I breathed gently. "Take off the masks. Lose the guns. Walk away and be better people." I commanded. "Yeah, okay." They dropped the guns and started to walk away. As they walked away, they pulled off their masks and threw them into a dumpster. I reached down and grabbed the guns before racing off to NCPD. There, I saw Maggie walking down a hallway with one of her coworkers.

She stopped talking for a second before walking to me. "Supergirl, I wanted to call you. Can we talk privately?" Maggie started. I nodded and she led me to a small conference room. "What's up Maggie?" I tried to play lightly. She saw right past my front. "Kara, we've been searching for almost a month. I can't use much more of my resources without bringing up suspicions between both sides of you, and Lena." She didn't meet my eyes.

It felt like I was punched in the gut. "Thank you for everything, Maggie. I appreciate all the effort you put into helping me." I stated, although slightly begrudgingly. I went to leave the small room. As I reached out to turn the knob of the door, I felt Maggie's hand grab my arm. "Kara-" She started. "Thank you, Maggie. I'll see you and Alex later." I walked out of the room before taking to the skies. I landed down in my apartment and went to bed early with my heavy heart.  
There was a loud ringing that woke me up from my dead sleep. I rolled over and saw that my clock read only 4 am. I groaned and silenced my phone. A few hours later, my phone rang again. I reached out and answered it. "Hello?"  _Kara, we finally got a hit on Lena's location_. I barely had time to process Winn's sentence before I shot to the sky and landed down in the DEO.

"Where is she?" I demanded as I walked into the control room. "She's at Lord Technologies." Winn answered. I turned around, ready to see Lena again, but Alex's hand held me back. "Kara, wait, this could be a trap." She pointed out. "I don't care." I shook her hand off and started to make my way out of the DEO. J'onn stepped in front of me. "Get out of my way J'onn." I stated. He raised his eyebrow in suspicion. "Med bay, now." He ordered. I glanced over and saw Mon-El getting closer to me, his hands ready to fight.

Reality crashed down on me like cold water. I lowered my head and walked to the med bay, while being escorted by Mon-El and Alex. Dr. Hamilton studied me for a second before making me sit down on a bed. "Is this necessary?" I asked. "Yes, we don't need another relapse with Red Kryptonite, especially when we know that it's not just Lex working against us anymore." Alex stated.

Dr. Hamilton quickly ran some tests on me. "She's clean." Dr. Hamilton informed as she studied my brain waves chart. I stood up and walked back out to the control room. J'onn looked to Alex. "Hamilton says she's clean." She confirmed.

J'onn studied me for a second. "Are you okay, Kara?" He asked. I hesitated before nodding shortly. "Yeah. I'm fine."

He raised his eyebrow, but said nothing else on the matter. "Okay. Supergirl, head out to Lord Technologies. Agent Schott, I want you monitoring any changes in radioactivity. We don't want Kara walking in on a trap filled with any type of Kryptonite. Agent Danvers, I want you and Alpha Team ready to be deployed if Lex shows up." J'onn commanded.

I flew out of the DEO with a racing heart. I landed down gently and cautiously made my way through Lord Technologies. "Any idea where Lena is?" I asked through my comms.  _I'm guessing she'd be in Lord's main office._ Winn stated. I quickly made my way there, and my heart kept in sync with my footsteps. I finally reached the door and I pushed it open slowly.

I looked around and saw no one inside. "There's no one here." I reported.  _What?_  J'onn asked. "I said, that there's no one-" A groan stopped me mid-sentence. I rounded the corner and saw that there was a lead lined barrier.  _Supergirl, report._ I heard J'onn command, but I didn't register it. I was to focused on whoever was behind the half wall of lead.  _Winn, what's the Kryptonite levels?_ Alex's voice was slightly panicked.  _Normal. I'm not picking up any sign of Kryptonite._ He answered.  _Then why isn't she answering? Are her comms down?_ Alex questioned.  _No, everything is fine. Nothing is jamming her comms._

I made my way around the lead.  _Kara, can you hear me?_ Alex asked. My heart stopped. "Oh Rao." I whispered and collapsed to my knees.  _Supergirl?_ "I need a med evac now!" I demanded.  _Is it Lena?_ Winn asked. "No, thank Rao." I breathed, slightly guilty, as I applied pressure to the wounds.

 _Supergirl, who is down?_ J'onn asked. "It's Lord. He's bleeding out." I reported.  _Med evac on its way now._ Hamilton replied. Lord's hand reached out. "It's too late, Kara. You l-lost." He coughed and blood sprayed my face. I grimaced. "Where is Lena?" I asked.

He smiled as blood ran down his chin. "She's go-ne. She's not yours any-more." He whispered. "What are you talking about?" I asked. He laughed weakly. "Doesn't mat-ter, you'll see soon." His head lulled to the side.

"No! You can't do this! Lord! Hey!" I shouted and grabbed his jaw. I stared into his eyes, waiting for him to look back. His body was unresponsive. I didn't need to listen to his heart to know that he was dead. The blood pooling under him and seeping onto my skin confirmed my fears. I knew he was dead, but it didn't stop me. "Damn it Max! Where did Lex take Lena!? What did you do to her?!" I cried. Hands pulled me away from his still body.

"Supergirl." A voice called. I blinked and looked over to the face. It was Vasquez. "Director J'onzz wants you back at the DEO asap. He doesn't want you to seem like the cause of this." She stated. I nodded slightly before leaving the building.

Dread weighed me down in the skies and I had to stop. I thought that I was going to land down like I usually did, but instead I crashed down harshly and stumbled on the roof. I stayed down, and finally sat on the rough roof.  _Supergirl? Get back to the DEO._  I bit my lip as a tightening feeling wrapped itself around my throat. I tore the comm out of my ear and threw it away from me. Silence echoed for a second before my heartbeat pounded in my ears and tears threatened to fall.

"Supergirl? Are you okay?" I heard a voice ask. I wiped the stray tear away before looking over my shoulder. "Nora?" I asked. She smiled at me. "You remember me?" She asked. I smiled and nodded. "Yes, but you've gotten bigger since the last time I saw you."

Nora stood up straighter and gave me a confident smile. "I know. Aunt Sofie said I've been growing a lot." Her smile faded slightly as she furrowed her eyebrows. "But how do you remember me?" She asked. "I remember everyone."

She was silent as she studied me. "That's a lot of people." She pointed out, stunned. I smiled again. "Yeah, I guess it is. But it's always worth it." She took a step closer to me. "Then what's wrong?" She questioned.

I swallowed. "Who said anything was wrong?" She huffed. "I know I'm young, but I can see that you are sad. You've been sad for a while." I looked down to my hands. "Have you been watching me?" I asked, slightly teasing. Nora laughed lightly. "That sounds creepy." She stated as she shook her head. "I've just been looking out for you, like you did for me."

"Oh."

I looked back up and saw that she was by my side. "What's wrong?" She asked. I hesitated. "You can trust me Supergirl. Please, I want to help. I want you happy again." She stated. Her eyes were innocent, and calm. Concern glistened in her eyes as she waited patiently for me to speak. "I-I lost someone. Someone I love. I promised to protect them, but I couldn't. I tried so hard to, but they slipped through my fingers. And now I'm afraid that I won't get them back." I finally confessed. "They will come back." She answered simply.

I smiled sadly. "How are you so sure?" I asked. Nora beamed triumphantly. "Because I know that when two people are in love, they always find their way back. My aunt and uncle are like that. They sometimes have to spend weeks apart for their jobs, but they find their way back here. People are like magnets. A strong bond between the two doesn't matter. They can be pulled apart, but they'll snap back together and make one strong magnet." She answered.

Hope rose in my chest for the first time since Lena disappeared. Nora's words made my heart swell. I smiled brightly at her and she returned it. "See? You know it's true. Otherwise you wouldn't be glowing like that." She offered me her hand and I took it. She helped me up off the ground. "Thank you, Nora." I stated and opened my arms. She looked up to me in wonder before accepting my hug. "Of course, Supergirl."

There was someone calling out Nora's name in the distance. She pulled away. "That's my aunt. I have to go." Nora declared, but stayed next to me. "Go, I'm a lot better now." I stated. Nora gave me one last big smile before disappearing in the stairwell of the building.

I took a breath and raced to the DEO. A few minutes later, I landed down and walked to the control room. Alex rushed over to my side. "Kara! Are you okay?" She questioned. "What? I'm fine." She reached out and touched my face. "Then who's blood-" Realization hit me and I cut her off. "It's Lord's. He's dead."

Winn walked over and offered me a damp towel. I took it graciously and wiped my face. "You thinking Lex did this?" Winn asked. "Who else?" I retorted. Alex leaned over the control panel.

"Yeah, but why? Why would Lex kill Lord if they were working together?"

I huffed. "I don't know. It'll just be another thing to ask him the next time we see him." I stated plainly. J'onn walked up to us. "I know that we're all thinking that Lord was killed by Lex, but we can't rule anyone out. Lord did have quite a few enemies."

I crossed my arms. "No, this has Lex written all over it." J'onn looked at me and stayed silent, evaluating my words. "No matter what, we need to keep a lookout. If Lex did do this, then he's going to be ready to make a bigger move since his killed his partner." He concluded. I nodded. "So what do we do until then?" Winn asked. "Nothing." Alex stated. "Why not?" Winn asked again. "Because if Kara, as Supergirl, does anything to investigate, it'll seem suspicious to the media." J'onn stated. "How so?"

"Think about it, Winn. Ever since Kara became Supergirl, she and Lord always clashed. Then he disappears for two years after Myriad used Lord's tech to broadcast the signals. Suddenly he's back, but not for long as he turns up dead. Supergirl is seen around the crime scene and asks questions of his demise and intentions as he was back in National City. People will start to think that she is possibly faking innocence." Alex explained. "But they know Kara won't kill." He pointed out. Alex and J'onn shared a look as I avoided eye contact. "They know that Supergirl won't kill," Winn shifted his weight. "Right?"

"I mean, I was infected by Red Kryptonite before. I attacked the city. At this point, someone could release a statement that I've gone rogue and killed Lord. People would believe it." I stated dejectedly. "They can't! They knew that it wasn't your fault for what happened. The city forgave you." He cried out.

"Winn enough." Alex stated. "No! They forgave her! The city understood. After everything Supergirl has done for them! After everything she's given to protect them!" He yelled. "Agent Schott, enough!" J'onn commanded. Winn was ready to continue to fight and he looked to me for the go ahead. I sighed and shook my head. Suddenly, I could see the rage slowly die from behind his eyes. "I'll-just go." He whispered.

I looked to Alex and J'onn before following Winn. He sped off to the training room. "Winn, hey." I called. He turned around slowly. "I'm sorry Kara. I didn't mean to fly off the rails like that. It just kinda came up." He apologized. "It's okay Winn." I could see something else troubling him.

"What's wrong?" I asked. He shook his head. "Nothing." Winn lied. "I think I've known you long enough to tell when you are lying." I joked lightly. A ghost of a smile was on his face. "I'm just so tired from all of this." He stated vaguely. "All of what?" I prodded. "You." He grimaced. "No, wait no! Not like that. I didn't mean it like that!" He cried quickly. I pulled him over to two seats and we both sat down. "What's going on with you Winn?" I asked as I held his hand.

He swallowed. "I hate seeing you like this, Kara. I hate seeing you so torn up, so sad. I hate how long you go out on patrol. I know you think you're sneaking around us to search for her, but you can't get around me. I always know when you're on patrol." He confessed. There was a long silence. I glanced down to my hand covering his, and back up to Winn's face.

"How?" I asked. He gave me a sad smile. "You're talking to me, remember?" He joked. The smile disappeared. "But honestly, I can't go to sleep until I know you're back safely in your loft. I can't go to sleep thinking that you're out on patrol by yourself." I interrupted him. "Winn-" But he cut me off.

"What would happen if Lex had got you while you were out of patrol? What would happen if no one knew about it? That is something that I can't let happen. You're my family, Kara, and I will do anything to protect you." I didn't realize that tears were running down my face until he reached up and wiped one away. I gave him a watery smile. "Winn-" I started, but I had no words. His green eyes were overflowing with tears as well.

"I had no idea what you have been doing for me, but now that I know, I want to say I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to worry so much. I didn't want to cause extra concern. But I want to say thank you. You're my family too Winn, and it means so much that you would do that for me. I don't know how I could ever repay you."

He smiled. "I know." He started. "What?" I asked. "Stop patrolling earlier? I mean 2 am? Come on Kara, I may stay up some times for binge watching or video games, but seriously. I need my sleep." He teased. I laughed. "Of course, Winn." I held open my arms and he gladly accepted my hug. "Thank you." I whispered into his ear. "Anytime."

We both stood up and walked back out to the control room. There, Alex was waiting. She looked to Winn hesitantly. "You okay?" She asked. He nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." He stated as he glanced to me. "So-uh- Maggie and I were planning to have a dinner and game night at our place. You guys are invited, if you want to join us. Just a little something to take our minds away from all this, even if it's just for a night." She invited before her eyes landed on me. "But if not that's perfectly okay." She added quickly.

I gave her a soft smile. "That sounds great Alex. What time?" She smiled at me. "Around 6. Winn, are you coming too?" She looked to him. He scoffed. "Of course, but just as long you and Kara aren't on the same team for whatever game you're planning." He joked.

"What?"

"That's not fair!"

Alex and I both disagreed at the same time. "Um, it is fair. Having you two on a team is literally the worst. It's like you can read each other's minds. It's bad enough having J'onn on game nights, but with you two-ugh. It's just terrible." Alex and I laughed. "That's what happens with sisters." Alex joked. "But fine." I added.

A few hours later, we arrived at Alex's apartment. I sat down on the couch next to Winn as Alex was in the kitchen and Maggie was bringing over some drinks. "Should we really allow Alex to be in the kitchen?" Winn asked. "Hey, I can hear you." Alex called and she walked near us. Alex playfully glared at Winn. "I'm just saying, you've had a few problems cooking in the past." He commented. I laughed and Alex glared at me. "Oh you're one to talk Kara." Maggie smiled.

"Uh no. Cooking and baking are two different things. I can't bake, but I definitely can cook way better than you." I pointed out. Alex put her hands on her hips. "Really?"

"Yes, really." I countered. "Okay, both Danvers need to calm down." Maggie scolded comically. Somehow she decided to play the diplomat between us. Alex stuck her tongue out and I scrunched my face at her.

"Uh, hey Alex, I smell burnt things." Winn called from our little argument. Alex darted in the kitchen. "Shit! Fire!" She yelled. I rushed into the kitchen and used my breath to put out the flames. Maggie and Winn rushed in seconds later. We all stared at the blackened sweet potato brûlée. "I think it's fine." Alex stated pathetically. "Sorry to burst your bubble Alex, but there is a fine line between brûlée and Pompeii." I mocked lightheartedly. Maggie snorted as Winn stifled a laugh.

Alex sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Winn, Maggie, how do you feel about Chinese instead?" I interrupted. "Hey, what about my opinion?" Alex waved me off. "That's what you get for teasing me. And besides, you never say no to any food." She pointed out. "Fair enough."

Alex ordered the Chinese food as Maggie, Winn, and I played Life. Suddenly my phone buzzed. I glanced down and saw an unknown number. I reread the screen, trying to think if I knew that number, but my mind didn't recognize it. I opened my phone and read the message. My heart skipped a beat.

"Kara? Earth to Kara? It's your turn." Winn called out. I shook my head to clear it and I looked back up to them. "Something wrong?" Maggie asked as Alex walked back over. "The food is on its way." Alex saw Maggie and Winn looking at me, and her attention followed worried gazes to my face. "Kara, what happened?"

I showed them the text. "The number says that its Lena."


	17. Chapter 17

Alex rushed over to my side. " _What_?" She asked and sat down next to me. Alex took the phone out of my hand and studied the message. Maggie and Winn continued to stare at me. "Is there any way to see if it is actually Lena?" Maggie asked. "I'm not sure. Even if Kara asks a personal question, Lex could force her to tell him the answer as he pretends to be her. Given if it isn't a prank." Alex stated. I swallowed thickly. "Kara, are you okay?" Winn asked.

I broke out of my reverie and met his eyes. "I'm not sure." I answered plainly. "Alex, hand me the phone." Winn stated and held out his hand. She placed it carefully in his hand. "What are you doing?" Maggie asked. "I'm going to make sure that Kara's phone wasn't hacked." Winn stood up.

"Are how are you going to do that?" Alex asked. Winn smiled smugly as he pulled a laptop out of his side bag he brought with him. "Of course the nerd brought a laptop." Maggie rolled her eyes. Winn set up his laptop and started to type away.

Nervousness consumed my whole body and I found myself unconsciously listening to Alex's heartbeat for comfort. It was beating faster than usual. I looked up from my lap to see her staring at me, her lips moving. I immediately tuned back in. "What?" I asked. Her heart almost immediately slowed down to its regular rhythm. "You stopped responding and turned a bit pale. It scared us." She explained. "I'm fine." Before she could say anything else, Winn interrupted. "Her phone wasn't hacked. But that's all I can tell." He confirmed.

I looked to the three of them. "What do I do?" I asked. They all exchanged puzzled glances. "What do you mean? You text her back. You get her back." Maggie asserted. "But could it be a trap?" I asked. Confusion crossed all their faces. "Kara, you finally get a lead on Lena, and  _now_  you're questioning that? You've been waiting for this moment." Alex pointed out. Lord's dying words echoed in my ears.  _It's too late, Kara. You l-lost. She's go-ne. She's not yours any-more. You'll see soon._

"Did Lord say something when he was bleeding out?" Maggie asked. I stayed silent, debating. "Kara?" Winn repeated. I nodded hesitantly. "Y-yeah." I answered shortly. "What did he say?" Alex asked. I chewed my lip before answering.

"He said that I was too late and that Lena isn't mine anymore. That she's gone. I f-failed her." I confessed. "Oh, Kara." Alex leaned for a hug, but I felt smothered and pushed away from her. I stood up and backed away from them. Concern washed over Alex's face. "I need some air. Yeah. Flying. I'll be- I'm gunna- the DEO." I rambled before jumping out the window and taking to the sky.

I landed down and went to go get changed into my suit. I then found a vacated room and sat down next to a wall. I leaned my head against the wall and closed my eyes. I slowed my breathing and let the sounds of the city flood my ears. Suddenly, I could hear J'onn's heavy feet pounding on the cold ground. He was coming to talk.

The door opened and he walked slowly over to me. "Kara." He called softly. I opened my eyes and saw him kneeling by me. "J'onn, what are you doing?" I asked. "Checking on you. Alex called and told me about the text. Are you okay?" He voice was soft, caring.

"Perfectly fine." I answered quickly. He shook his head lightly. "I don't believe that. I saw you land down and storm off into the locker room." He stated. There was a pause. "Yeah, I did." He looked down to my chest, to the Crest. "You changed into your suit, why?"

I chewed my lip momentarily. "Why not? I'm Supergirl." I answered with steel in my voice. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "Yes, but you are also Kara Danvers, who should be taking a night off with your family." I sighed. "I guess… I wanted to only be Supergirl right now. She doesn't have deep emotional connections that can hurt her. Make her worry. She's strong. Well- she's supposed to be." I mentioned.

"You're missing a major point." He started. "What's that?" I asked. He gave me a small smile. "They are both sides of you. You can't decide to only be Supergirl, or only be Kara Danvers. You are both. You are Kara Danvers, Daughter to the House of El, Supergirl." He declared. I took a breath. I met his warm eyes. "Thank you J'onn."

He offered me a hand and helped me up. J'onn grabbed me in a hug. "Don't you forget it." I hugged him back. "I won't." He pulled away and touched his ear. "Repeat that Agent Vasquez." He stated. I could hear Vasquez's voice echo in his ear, but I couldn't make out what she said exactly. J'onn looked to me. "Something wrong?" I asked. He hesitated for a second. "J'onn?" I asked again.

"You remember the jumper from L-Corp right?"

I nodded. "Yes, Mark. I dropped him off at the hospital." I stated. "Apparently, he won't talk to the police. He won't cooperate with the nurses. He's violent." J'onn explained. "And what do you want me to do?" I asked. "The police say that he's calling for Supergirl. They said that Mark was saying she's the only one he'll talk to." I clenched my jaw and nodded.

I turned around and got ready to leave the DEO.  _I'm so sorry Lena. It'll have to wait. Just a bit longer_. J'onn placed his hand on my shoulder. "You don't have to do this." J'onn stated. I shook my head. "No, I promised that I would be there for him." He squeezed my shoulder and gave me a small smile.

I jumped up and raced off to the hospital. As I entered the building, I could hear things crashing to the ground. I ran to the source of the commotion. "What's going on?" I asked a police officer. "According to the nurses, he was doing fine. He wasn't indicating any type of suicidal tendencies after you brought him in. But as soon as myself and my partner showed up wanting to ask him some questions, and then he started to freak out."

I walked over to the door and grabbed the handle. On top of it being locked, I could feel that it was way hotter than doorknobs should be. I jiggled the handle. Something crashed against the door. "You're not getting in." Mark called. I knocked on the door. "Mark?" I called. The commotion stopped. "Su-Supergirl?" I heard him call tentatively. "Yes, Mark, it's me. Can you let me in?"

"No, I know that you'll let the police in here."

I glanced back at the waiting officers and shook my head. I looked back to the door. "I promise I won't, it's just me." There was a moment of silence. "Okay."

Slowly, the door opened, but only a crack. Mark's hand reached out and grabbed my arm. I cautiously entered the hospital room. I looked around and saw that anything that could be moved was blocking the windows and door. "Mark?" I asked. Mark stood away from me. "What's going on?" I asked. He didn't meet my eyes. "The police said that you were fine until they showed up. What's wrong?"

Finally, his eyes met mine. They were distance and unfocused. "I can't go to jail. Please." He started. "What? Why would you go to jail?" I asked. "They don't know. It wasn't my fault. I didn't have a choice. Please. They said that I had to." Mark rambled. I slowly walked over to Mark and held his forearms gently. He was shaking so badly. "If you want me to help you, you need to tell me what's going on."

"I heard the police in the hall. They knew it was me. They were going to question me. Take me in. Imprison me."

"Mark, please. You need to explain it to me."

Suddenly his eyes cleared up. "I did it. I killed him." He confessed. My heart sped up. "Who did you kill?" I asked softly. "Maxwell Lord." He whispered. My eyes widened. "What? Why?" I asked.

Mark swallowed. "I was forced to. Otherwise, they were going to kill my family. They lied and did it anyway. I saw their bodies. They  _lied_." Mark cried. "Who Mark? Who forced you to kill Lord?"

"The Luthors."

My blood froze. "Okay, Mark. It's okay. Just hold on." I turned away from him for a second. "Did you hear that?" I asked in my comms.  _Unfortunately, yes. We heard everything_. J'onn stated. "What do I do?"  _Nothing as of right now. NCPD will have to take him into custody. "But-" There is nothing we can do, Kara. We're a secret government facility. And what's even worse is that the general public doesn't know Lex is out of prison. They'll just think that he's crazy. Especially after that suicide attempt that you saved him from_. "There has to be something."

I heard Mark walk over to me. "What are you doing?" He asked. "I'm trying to figure out how to help you."  _I know how to help._ A new voice said; Maggie. "What?"  _Let Mark be taken in. NCPD will have jurisdiction over this. I could take the case and try to help him, and us, from there._ I stayed silent for a second, thinking. "Okay, but Maggie, are you sure that you can get the case?"  _100% positive._

I looked back to Mark and held his hands. "Mark, I need you to do something really brave for me, okay?" He looked at me curiously. "What?" He asked. "I need you to let the police take you and question you." I stated. Mark shook his head. "No, I can't do that." I squeezed his hands. "No, it'll be okay. I have friends there. We'll be there to help. But we need to do it their way. Everything will be fine."

He took a shaky breath. "I can't." He stated. "I know you can. Everything will be fine. Can you trust me?" He nodded.

I walked over to the door and walked out, with Mark following me. The police took him into custody. I flew to NCPD landed in front just as Maggie and Alex pulled up in Maggie's cruiser.

We walked inside and were greeted by Maggie's boss. "Supergirl? What are you doing here? We have this handled." He tried to dismiss me. "Actually, Lieutenant, she's the only reason why Mark allowed himself to be taken in." Maggie commented. The lieutenant studied me for a second, annoyance clearly written on his face. "Lieutenant Dwight, I'm Agent Danvers, FBI." Alex flashed her badge. He eagerly turned his attention away from me. "FBI? Why are you here?" He asked. "Strictly confidential. The FBI will be taking over this case."

Lieutenant Dwight's nostrils flared in anger. "No, we're not going to just hand over this case to the Feds." He stated. I saw Alex's jaw flex and I knew she was seconds from going off on this poor guy. I stepped in. "Lieutenant Dwight, right? Look, this guy, Mark. He's terrified. He isn't going to talk to you, or any of your officers if he knows that I'm not on his side."

He smirked slyly. "He doesn't need to know." He stated. Disgust washed over me.  _How could he be so self-centered like that?_  "Oh, don't worry, I'll let him know. And then he definitely won't cooperate." I pointed out. He narrowed his eyes at me briefly before looking to Maggie. "Sawyer, you'll be helping the Fed and Supergirl." He stated gruffly as he walked away. I looked to Maggie. "I thought you said that we'd get the case as you put it 100%? That seemed more like a reluctant 75% at most."

Maggie shrugged. "Dwight is a guy who you'll always have to haggle with. It didn't help that you were here."

"Yeah, what was his problem with Supergirl?" Alex asked as we walked down the halls. "When you went all Red-K the first time, you roasted his cruiser. He loved that cruiser and has had a grudge on you ever since." Maggie explained. "Oh."

Maggie opened a door and through it was a small dark room. The young officer looked up to Maggie, and she gestured for him to leave. I looked further in and saw Mark through the one-way mirror sitting behind a metal table, wrists cuffed, and lights shinning down on him. "So why did NCPD want to bring him in?" I asked. "Apparently before Mark worked at L-Corp, he was at Lord Technologies as an electrical engineer."  _Well that explains how he made that rig to keep the police out of the hospital room._ "He and Lord never got along. Lord even went as far as getting a restraining order." Maggie stated as she read the file that was left for us in the small room. "Why?" I asked. "Apparently Mark was harassing Lord. Attacking him verbally and threatening him." Maggie answered as she continued to read. I furrowed my eyebrows. That didn't sound like the man I met. Mark was too docile. "So, they believe that it was Mark who killed Lord?" Alex asked. Maggie nodded. I stayed silent as I studied Mark. Something was off.

I left the small room and entered the room where Mark was being held. "Please, I answered your questions. I told you what happened. Just take me away." He pleaded. "Mark?" I asked. His head shot up and he stared at me. "Supergirl? You're here? They told me that you never showed."

I sat down on the other side of the table. "I'm here, aren't I?" Tears immediately started to form in his eyes. "Hey, hey, it's okay." I tried to soothe. "No, it's not." He cried. "What happened?"

"I ruined it. I ruined everything." I reached out and held his hand. "What happened Mark?" His eyes met mine. "The Lieutenant came in here. He wouldn't let me talk to you. He said that if I confessed, I'd get a deal. A shorter sentence." He started. "Mark, I know that you didn't-"

"But you don't understand!" He started to get angry. "Okay, Mark, just calm down. Tell me what happened. From the beginning. Let me understand. Why did Lord have a restraining order against you?"

He took a shaky breath. "We were working on some new tech. Ordered by LexCorp. We were under heavy stress to get the project done. Max was cutting corners, skipping safety tests. Anything he could do to get the project done on time. I was the head electrical engineer responsible for pretty much the entire project. My name was over everything. I knew that if it failed, it could've hurt thousands. LexCorp would've had it out for me. I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't let Max flush my career down the toilet. I stood up to him. I went to the board to report Max's abuse of safety. I was verbally harassed by other employees who were paid to take Max's side." Mark sighed tiredly and shifted in his uncomfortable metal chair.

"They flipped it so I was the so-called bad buy. Max then got a restraining order on me. I tried fighting it tooth and nail. I wasn't going to let it die. Before it backfired in Max's face, he fired me. I was unemployed for quite some time before LexCorp turned into L-Corp. Miss Luthor was quite nice to me. She overlooked what happened at Lord Technologies. I was grateful and worked as hard as I could to keep proving that she made the right decision." He paused and looked down. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Mark?" I asked after a few minutes of silence. He looked back up to me. "Then something happened. Miss Luthor became cold and cut off. Not like her normal self. Then she disappeared. Mr. Luthor took her spot on the project that they had me on." My heart was pounding as I thought he would say on how Lena was doing and what happened. Instead it went a different route. "Then, one day they came to my office. They demanded that I kill Max. Threatened my family. They would kill my wife, and my daughters if I didn't go to his office and kill him. They stood behind be on everything. My family never thought I was the bad guy. My little team." He smiled sadly as a tear ran down his cheek. "I was handed a ray gun to simulate your heat vision. They wanted you to be shunned by National City. But it obviously backfired, and I'm glad it did. I would hate myself if I was the cause for the city's hatred toward you. I saw what happened the last time they turned on you. It broke my heart."

His head fell. I heard his heartrate rise quickly and he slammed his fists on the metal table. "That day after it all, I went to jump off the building. I found out that the Luthor's killed my family. It didn't matter what I did. They were killed anyway and it turned me into a fucking  _murderer_! I killed Maxwell Lord!" He cried.

I reached out and placed my hand on his, but he pulled it away. He glanced to the dark window, glaring at his reflection. I heard commotion outside and two officers rushed in. "Mark Jennings, you are under arrest for murdering Maxwell Lord. You have the right to remain silent. If you do say anything, what you say can be used against you in a court of law-" I stood up. "Hey wait!" I yelled. "Supergirl!" Mark called as he was pulled out of the room. I charged out of the interrogation room and saw Lieutenant Dwight standing smugly. "What the hell-" Maggie and Alex joined me. "Supergirl, Agent Danvers, Detective Sawyer, he admitted to the crime. The city council and the people of National City are demanding justice due to everything that Lord Technologies has done for this community. I cannot deny them the satisfaction of  _justice_. Can you?" As he said justice, his cold dark eyes practically told me that it was an obvious jab at me. I glared at him, but I knew that I couldn't say anything back. "We weren't done here." I commented angrily. He shrugged. "Oh well, come back later."

"We will,  _with_  a sanction to remove Mark Jennings from NCPD authority." Alex added. "Until then." He looked to Maggie. "Detective Sawyer, show these two out of my station." He walked away.

Annoyance fizzed in my stomach and I could practically feel Alex's blood boiling. "That went terribly." I stated. "Tell me about it." Alex sighed. "I'm sorry guys, usually, he isn't that much of an ass." I looked to Alex. "Hey you can take care of this right? There is something I need to do." I stated. Immediately Alex understood. "Go."

My heart was beating in my chest. I raced off to L-Corp and a thousand thoughts ran through my mind _. What she hurt? What did Lex do to her? How did she get back? Does she know what Lex is going to do next? How did-_

My thoughts halted as I touched down on the balcony just outside Lena's office. Oddly enough, the blinds were all closed. I reached out and went to pull open the door, but it didn't budge. I knew it wouldn't, unless I wanted to exert some of my super strength to pull it off its hinges. I knocked instead. "Lena? Lena are you in there?" I called. I used my x ray vision to see her sitting on her couch. I knocked again _. Maybe she didn't hear me?_

"Lena? Babe, are you okay?"

Still she stayed on her couch, not even looking over in my direction. I could hear her heart beating heavily. I was about to rip the door away when she finally got up. Lena strode over to the door and opened it.

Her eyes were bright red and her jaw was set. She glared at me maliciously. But otherwise I didn't see any injures. I was put off by her appearance. "Thank Rao. Lena, are you okay?" I reached out to her, but she batted my hand away. She turned her back and walked into her office. I followed after her. She sat down on a smaller chair by her desk. She seemed to want to put as much distance between us as she could. She leaned away from me as if the desk wasn't enough. "Why would you dare show up now? And wearing  _that_?" Her sharp green eyes stared down at my chest. "Lena, I tried everything to-"

"I don't want to hear your fucking excuses." She barked. My eyebrows furrowed. "Lena, you don't understand-" She cut me off again. " _No_." She gritted her teeth. I swallowed my words and studied her intently. Something was really off with her. I couldn't place it. Her green eyes were as hard as emeralds and her face was void of all emotion. It was as if the poisoned green around her irises had leaked into her personality, taking away everything that made Lena, Lena. I continued to study her features, slowly evaluating the face I missed so much. I sat there in silence, praying silently that maybe this was all a cruel joke. That she would somehow come to her senses. I waited. I could feel her eyes burning onto my own face, unbridled rage seething beneath her cold demeanor. "Get out."

" _What?_ "

"Get out. I can't look at your hypocritical face. I can't stand you. Your presence. I never could. Get OUT!"

I shook my head.  _This wasn't the way this was supposed to go. Everything was supposed to be fine._ "No, Lena. I've been trying to find you for ages. Ever since you went with Lord-" She cut me off. "There was a point to that  _Kara."_  She spat. "Why?"

She avoided my question. "How long have you known?" I furrowed my eyebrows. "Known what?" I asked, genuinely confused. "How long have you known that I was a Luthor?" She asked. I laughed nervously. "Um, since you came to National City? We met and you introduced yourself as Lena Luthor." I tried to joke. She shook her head. "No, how long have you known that I was a Luthor, by  _blood_?" She asked harshly. "What? No, you're not. You told me that you were adopted by the Luthors." I explained.

"Liar! You knew all along!" She shouted. I backed up as her eyes seemingly glowed with rage. "W-what are you talking about?" I asked.

"You knew all along that I was a true Luthor! That my father had an affair! That I really am a  _Luthor!_ That's why you became my friend, why you got close to me! Your cousin told you that I was a Luthor and sent you on this mission. That's why you and Clark showed up in my office. To scope me out! You were supposed to make sure that I didn't turn evil!" She shouted again. " _What_ , no! Lena, what the fuck are you  _talking_  about?"

Her nostrils flared dangerously and she stood up from her chair and slammed her palms down on the desk. She leaned over it menacingly and pointed at my chest. "Oh, don't you  _dare_  play stupid with me Kara Zor-El! Lex explained everything to me! You and your family are trying to sabotage me and Lex! You already succeeded with my mother! I never knew that you could kill in cold blood! I was comforted by her killer!" She screamed. Fear clawed its way through my body and finally into my heart as she called me my real name.  _I never told her my real name. Lex told her everything. Everything I didn't, but what I promised I would._ She laughed. "And you played it off oh so well. Let me coming running right into your arms so that you could control my actions, my feelings."

I tried to speak, but I was shocked. "No, Lena I-I-" I stuttered. "How could you play along with the lie that I was told? How could you allow me to believe that I could be anything different than a Luthor? How could you allow me to believe that anyone could  _love me_?" Tears were running down her face.

"What?" I immediately made my way around the desk. I grabbed her in my arms. Her entire body was tense and cold. "No, babe. You know that I have always loved you. Please. You are the only person I've ever truly loved and felt so at home with. I don't- I don't know what Lex did-"

She cut me off. " _Exactly!_  You don't know what he did. But more specifically, what we did." She purred evilly. Nausea washed over me and my strength left my body. As I looked down to her body, I could see something glowing green within her hands. A sharp pain slashed on my stomach. I cried out and pulled away as quickly as I could. I held my hand against my stomach before pulling it away and seeing blood.

The green of the Kryptonite blade radiated off her emotionless green eyes and terrified me to my core. "K-Kryptonite?" I gasped. She smiled. "What's wrong Kara?" She started walking towards me and effectively trapping me on her balcony. "Lena, please. This isn't you. This isn't what you want!"

She laughed. "How could you, a fucking alien, ever know what I want?" She questioned. "Because I love you Lena! You have to see that! Please. Come back to me." I cried. I watched in slow motion as she pulled her arm back, ready to throw the knife into my chest. I swallowed and knew that there was only one way out of this; one way to escape her wrath and the Kryptonite's effect.

Powerless, I threw myself over the railing.


	18. Chapter 18

I could feel myself falling quicker than usual. My heart was beating roughly in my chest. This Kryptonite had a stronger effect than any other type I've encountered. I swallowed and closed my eyes, waiting for my body to slam on the concrete, I knew my powers wouldn't return. Instead of the ground, I felt arms wrap around my body. I opened my eyes to see Mon-El holding me. "Kara, are you okay?" He asked. "DEO." I stated weakly.

Mon-El quickly raced off to the DEO and brought me to the med bay. I immediately went over to the sun beds and laid down with them blasting full power. I closed my eyes and tried to even out my breathing.  _What the hell just happened? Where did that kryptonite come from? Kal and the DEO had carefully stored all their wares far away from here. Unless, it was created. Lex must've made synthetic with Max. What did they add to it? It hurt like hell._  I opened my eyes and looked down to the cut in my suit. Slowly, the wound was healing.

I heard commotion from outside the med bay. "Where is she?" Seconds later, Alex came charging in with a slightly worried face, but it was filled mostly with relief. "Kara! Thank god! Your comms were jammed just a few minutes after you arrived at L-Corp. We thought something bad happened-" Alex went silent as her eyes landed down on my stomach. "What happened? What did Lex do to you?" She asked angrily.

I shook my head. "It wasn't Lex." I swallowed a small wave of nausea. "It was Lena." I finished. " _Lena_." Alex growled. "What did she do to you?" I heard J'onn's voice ask from the corner of the room. I raised my head from the sun bed and saw him standing there protectively. "She had Kryptonite. Caught me off guard. I'm fine." I quickly put my head down as I became dizzy. My body relished in the warmth the sun gave me. I was shivering. "Clearly you're not. What else did the Luthors do?"

"No, it was just Lena. Something was off with her. She was emotionless, threatening, just-" I hesitated. " _Evil_." I felt Alex hold my hand. "Lex must've done something to her. There is no way that she could've flipped like this." Alex tried to reason.

"She thinks I killed Lillian. She thinks that Kal had put me up to 'babysit' her and make sure she doesn't become evil." I stated softly. Alex squeezed my hand. "Whatever happened, I want you to stay at the DEO for observation." I scoffed lightly. "J'onn, I'm fine. I don't need agents watching over me." I sat up and grabbed onto Alex for some support. I watched as a government official walked into the med bay. "Director J'onzz, the president is wanting to speak with you in the MTAC." She interrupted. J'onn turned away. "Of course. Agent Danvers, can you assure me that Supergirl will be under strict watch?" J'onn used his authoritative voice, but we both understood what he implied;  _Alex keep an eye on Kara for any more negative effects of Kryptonite._

J'onn was gone in an instant and Alex walked over to one of the cabinets. "What are you doing?" I asked. "I need to see if you're healing okay. That Kryptonite is definitely affecting you. You look pale." She answered. "Oh gee, just when I thought I was feeling better." I stated sarcastically. Alex gently pushed me back down on the sun bed. About a minute later, Alex pulled off her gloves and tossed them in the trash. "It seems to be healing a bit slower, and the cut looks a little more irritated than I'd want it to, but I think you'll live." She reported.

Alex's eyes met mine. "Are you okay?" She asked softly after a few seconds. "I'm fine. I think the solar lamps really helped me out being on full power." I answered. "That's good to hear, but I was going more for see if you were okay about- what happened." Alex mumbled.

I sat up. "Of course I'm not okay, Alex. Lex did something to Lena. There is no way for me to know exactly what, unless I find them and ask, which I'm not too fond of considering now they have this- I guess- super Kryptonite. Max is dead. Lex is planning something, and I don't know what, so I don't know how to fight it. So, in short, I'm not fine." I breathed sharply.

I looked up to Alex. "Sorry, I didn't mean to explode that on you." I apologized. Alex shook her head. "It's okay, Kara. I understand. You feel stuck, and worried. Especially for Lena, and everyone else, like you always are. But don't worry. We have all of our friends working together to find out exactly what Lex is planning to do."

I sighed. "I know. I know. It's just that, you didn't see the way Lena was, Alex. It was like she was someone else completely. She wasn't Lena. She wasn't  _my_  Lena." I swallowed thickly. "I'm afraid- I'm afraid that after all this, Lena will never be the same. I don't want to believe that she's gone, but Alex, I saw  _no_  good in her eyes. She might be gone forever." I cried.

Alex took a seat next to me. She intertwined her fingers in mine. "I promise, after all this, I will do everything I can to help Lena. Okay?" I sniffled. "O-okay."

"Good, now you're going to stay under the panels for another hour or two okay? I want to make sure that you have your powers back." Alex stated. I nodded before closing my eyes and drifting off to sleep.

I woke up some time later, my blood pounding thickly through my body. I sat up and shook my head. I instantly felt better, it must have been just how quickly I woke up. My mind was still in overdrive, even after my nap.  _Lex, the Kryptonite he had when he fought Kal. It wasn't found. Lex **made**  it. Specifically, LexCorp made it. No, it couldn't be._ I rushed off to the archives in search of validation.

I quickly typed away and found a few reports of business transactions with other businesses around the same time Lex was getting ready to fight Kal. I found exactly what I was looking for. I grabbed a tablet and rushed off to the control room. "We need to get Mark out of NCPD!" I called. J'onn, Winn, and Alex looked perplexed. "Shouldn't you be resting?" J'onn asked. "No, I got it. Mark was working for Lord Technologies and said that LexCorp ordered from them." I connected the tablet to one of the main screens above the large control panel. "This was all at the same time that Lex was planning on attacking Superman. We could never figure out where he got all his Kryptonite. But I get it now! Lex ordered the tech from Lord's company because it aided in making synthetic Kryptonite!" I explained.

Winn's eyes widened. "I bet Mark must at least know about the machinery that help creates Kryptonite, right?" He questioned. "Yeah, it must be, otherwise why would Lex keep Mark working at L-Corp? Wouldn't he be afraid of Mark either understanding what he was doing, or trying to sabotage Lex's plan?" Alex pointed out.

An agent came running to J'onn. "I have that sanction from President Marsdin, Director J'onzz." He handed him a piece of paper. J'onn immediately handed it off to Alex. "Alex, get Alpha Team together, we have a witness to transfer." He ordered. Alex immediately ran off, shouting to her fellow agents. I was getting ready to follow her, but J'onn stopped me. "You're not going anywhere. Lex and Lena now pose a severe threat to you. Until Alpha Team and I secure Mark here, you're not leaving the DEO. Understood?"

"J'onn I-" I was about to argue with him, but I knew it would be futile. "Understood. Just watch over Alex. Please." He nodded. "I always do. Agent Schott, make sure Supergirl stays here." He commanded. I huffed and took a seat next to Winn.

J'onn, Alex, and the rest of Alpha Team rushed to NCPD to get Mark. I watched as Winn tracked their location the entire way to NCPD. "Do you think NCPD will give him up easily?" Winn asked. "I doubt it. The lieutenant there made it very clear that he didn't like the FBI or me. So there might be some-"

 _Trouble, and a lot of it. A white Martian showed up and is tearing apart NCPD._  Alex reported over the comms. "I'm on my way." I stated.  _No, Supergirl. I order you too-_ He was cut off by an explosion. "J'onn?" I called.  _The White Martian opened a gas leak. One of the officers' bullets ricocheted and sparked on impact._   _J'onn got knocked back by explosion._ "I'll be there in a minute."

 _No, Kara. J'onn gave you orders._  "I don't care. I want you, J'onn, and the rest of the agents brought back safely." I stated before rushing out of the DEO and to NCPD.

Flames were erupting out of NCPD. I could see an unconscious J'onn hidden behind a concrete block with Alex guarding him. Inside, the White Martian was wreaking havoc and the officers were slowly losing against it. "Are you okay?" I called to Alex over the comms.  _Yes, so is the rest of Alpha Team. But the officers inside-_  I cut her off. "I know. I got this." I rushed inside.

The White Martian was throwing cabinets at the officers. Before it them, I grabbed the metal cabinet and threw it back. The White Martian's attention immediately landed on me. It growled and hissed before swiping one of its hands at me. I ducked under it and gave a good upper cut. The White Martian flew backwards into the roaring flames. It screamed before completely disappearing in the fire.

The flames turned black before becoming hotter and larger. "Get out of here!" I yelled to the remaining officers. I was about to rush out when I heard a familiar heartbeat still in the office. "Alex, was Maggie here?" I asked.  _What? You're comm- is breaking- up._ "Was Maggie in NCPD?" I asked.  _I don't-_ The comms crackled before dying in the extreme heat. I pulled the comm out of my ear and rushed to the location of the heartbeat. There, I saw Maggie unconscious.

I was about to pick her up when the White Martian reemerged and pulled me back by the cape. Its skin was charred completely and I could see parts of its bone from 4th degree burns. It kicked me back, near the flames and I could feel how intense it was becoming. I swung a table at it's head, and the White Martian collapsed. Time seemed to slow down as I watched the flames start to expand to the body of the White Martian. I rushed back to Maggie and covered her in my cape.

The heat ran up my back and wrapped around my sides. And as soon as the heat had come, it disappeared twice as quickly. I pulled Maggie into my arms and used my breath to put out the now dying flames. "Supergirl?!" I heard Alex call from outside. I emerged from the smoke and was greeted by officers, firefighters, news reporters, bystanders, and Alpha Team. I rushed off to Alex. "Where's the van?" I asked. Alex pointed to the FBI van which was a little way down the street.

"Is that?" Alex started. "Maggie was unconscious when I got in there. Maybe a few 1st degree burns, 2nd at most, but she'll be okay. I didn't see any broken bones." I stated and handed her to another agent, who loaded her into the back of the van, next to an unconscious J'onn, and a very scared looking Mark.

I could see it in her eyes, that Alex wanted to hug me, but she refrained from doing so. "I'll see you back at the DEO." I whispered before taking off.

I landed down and Mon-El rushed over to me. "Kara! What were you thinking? You just were attacked with Kryptonite! And then you go and face a White Martian?" He yelled. "I had it handled, Mon-El. By the way, if you were so worried about me, where were you?" I asked hotly. He rocked backward on his heels but said nothing. "That's what I thought." I turned away from him and to the control room. "Are they almost here?" I asked Winn. "ETA 3 minutes." I grabbed a new comm before sitting back down by Winn.

Suddenly the doors opened and Alpha Team came in. J'onn was no longer unconscious but looked slightly weak. Maggie was also conscious but looked pale. She walked to the med bay with Alex following behind her. Mark was escorted by a few agents to one of the holding cells.

J'onn walked over to me. "I thought I told you to stay here." He stated. I went to protest, but he stopped me. "But I'm glad you didn't." He gave me a small smile. "However, that doesn't mean that I want you to do that ever again." He added on. I nodded. "Of course J'onn."

"I assume that Mark is slightly shaken up from this attack, so we might delay his interrogation. We want him to be as calm as possible so we can get the best answers. We don't want his answers clouded by anger or fear." J'onn stated and he winced in pain. "I agree. But you also need rest, J'onn. Possibly even need to be checked over by Dr. Hamilton." I stated.

His jaw clenched, but knew I was right. I walked with J'onn to the med bay. Dr. Hamilton was working on Maggie's burns. "My hero." Maggie teased as she saw me enter the bay. I rolled my eyes. "You okay?" I asked. She nodded. "Yeah, thanks to you."

Alex looked over to J'onn. "Decided to come to the med bay after all?" She asked. "I'm fine, but if it will give you and Kara peace of mind, then fine."

Alex huffed before glancing at me. "So do you think that the White Martian attack was random?" I shook my head. "There is no way this was coincidence. Especially with Lex being the head of this whole operation. I'd bet Lex sent that White Martian to take care of Mark and tie up any loose ends." I stated plainly. "That is true, which means you're at an extremely high risk, Kara." Alex pointed out. I leaned against a cabinet and sighed. "Yeah, yeah I know. But I can't just do nothing. They pose a threat not only to me, but to the rest of National City and the world."

"So, what-" Maggie gasped in pain as Dr. Hamilton worked on one of her burns. "What do we do?" She finished. "We interrogate Mark. See what he knows. Maybe since he worked for the Luthors long enough, he'll tell us something useful." J'onn added. "Okay, but we need to take it easy on him, J'onn." I stated. He nodded. "Of course." Dr. Hamilton finally finished bandaging up Maggie and J'onn and we all left the med bay.

J'onn and I went down to the interrogation rooms. J'onn entered the room first while I waited outside. A few seconds later, J'onn motioned me to come in. As I walked in, Mark visibly relaxed. "What the hell was that? Was it after me? Did Mr. Luthor send that thing to kill me?" He rambled off. "Mark, take it easy. Okay? Breathe." I commanded. He nodded and took a deep breath. "Everything will be okay. You're safe here." J'onn stated.

"So, what do you want from me?" He asked. "We want you to tell us anything about what you were working on. Any of the technology LexCorp ordered, or what L-Corp hired you to make." J'onn informed. Mark scratched his head. "I don't really know if I can. Mr. Luthor kept almost everything under wraps. He only had me making very odd things; nothing that would work together. I'm sorry." He looked away from me, ashamed. J'onn got up and I followed him to the viewing room. Alex and Winn were waiting for us in there.


	19. Chapter 19

"Why would Lex be hiding so much from Mark. I mean the guy was employed by L-Corp for quite some time. He even worked with Lex according to Mark." Winn stated. "Lex probably did it the same way the United States kept Oak Ridge a secret during World War 2." Alex pointed out. "I'm sorry, my US history is a little rusty. Oak Ridge?" Winn asked.

"Oak Ridge was a secret town in Eastern Tennessee that housed thousands of workers that helped build the atomic bomb. Each worker was sworn to secrecy and was only given the smallest amount of info on the pieces of the bomb they worked on. The government kept these people and their families locked behind fences and under the eye of armed guards. Most workers didn't know about what they were doing until the bombs were dropped in 1945." J'onn explained. "Oh, okay wow. I did not know that. So that means that Mark will have no clue what he was building for. All he knows about the pieces he was making, which apparently weren't cohesive with each other." Winn concluded.

"That sounds about right." I said unconfidently. Alex scoffed. "Oh please, Kara. J'onn could've made that up and you still would've agreed to it." She stated. "Hey!" I exclaimed. "What? It's true! You always sucked at history. Remember the Continental Army? Isiah Washington?" She teased. Winn raised his eyebrow and tried to hide a laugh. " _Isiah_ Washington?" He asked. I sighed. "Those classes were pointless. Why did I need to know what someone did in 1743 to be Supergirl?" I asked. "Well, apparently you did as this directly relates to the issue at hand." J'onn stated, trying to get us back on track. I rolled my eyes. "Fine. So do we just ask Mark to recreate what he built, if he can, and hopefully we can figure it out before Lex does something crazy?" I asked. "No need." Winn stated as he motioned to Mark, who seemed to be trying to get anyone's attention.

J'onn and I walked back into the interrogation room. "Finally! I was going to say that I don't know what Mr. Luthor was having me build, but I do remember where he had us deliver the pieces." He stated. "Where?" I asked. "Some weird bunker he had about 50 miles north of Mount Whitney." He answered. J'onn motioned to the mirror. Seconds later, Winn came in with a tablet. J'onn took the tablet and passed it to Mark. "Type in the coordinates." Mark quickly typed them in before handing the tablet back to J'onn.

We stood up and J'onn started to head out of the door. "Mark, don't worry about anything. We'll have a team watching over you, making sure that the Luthors don't try to finish what they started at NCPD." J'onn stated. "Wait, aren't I under arrest?" He asked. J'onn shook his head. "No, I already talked to President Marsdin about you very delicate situation. She understood and pardoned you. We just want to keep you here until this all blows over." Mark's eyes went wide. "The-the president?" He repeated. I smiled at him. "I told you. You got me. Everything is going to be okay." I said.

Tears started to form in his eyes. "Thank you." He whispered just before J'onn and I exited the interrogation room. Everyone reconvened in the control room. J'onn immediately gave out his orders. Alpha Team, Alex, and Mon-El would mobilize in a helicopter while I would fly to the bunker.

I could hear commotion on the comms.  _Agent Danvers, what is going on?_ I heard J'onn ask.  _J'onn, it's my mom. The alarm system that was set up has been going off. She's not picking up her phone. I can't find her on any of the security cameras. I think something is going on._  Alex reported with a thick voice. My heart dropped. "Alex, get take Alpha Team to Midvale." I commanded.  _Supergirl, you are not the one to be giving commands._ J'onn reminded me. "No, J'onn. It could be Lex going after Eliza. If he gets her, she could be an asset for Cadmus. We can't let her fall into his hands."  _I can't let Alex lose her mom,_  I thought. There was silence on the comms.  _Director J'onzz, what are your orders?_ I heard Vasquez ask.

 _Alpha Team, go to Midvale and secure Dr. Danvers. Reconvene at the DEO after the threat is neutralized._ He ordered.  _Roger that._ Vasquez confirmed and I watched as the helicopter changed its course.  _What about Supergirl?_  I heard Mon-El ask.  _Supergirl, continue heading to location._ J'onn stated with a firm voice. He must've been debating internally about it.  _J'onn, you can't possibly think that is a good idea._ Mon-El voiced.  _I agree with Mon-El, J'onn._ Alex added in.

"No, I'll be fine. Alex, you need to make sure Eliza is safe. And Mon-El, I need you to watch Alex's back, just in case. I can't let this trail go cold. I need to get answers now. We need answers now. This is the best chance we have." I reasoned.  _J'onn-_  Alex started, but he interrupted.  _Supergirl is right. We can't let this opportunity go to waste. Lex must know by now that the White Martian failed in killing Mark. He must know that we'd be heading to his bunker by now. If we wait, he could destroy anything that could give us a clue about any of his plans._

 _Exactly, he'll be expecting this to be our move! For us to arrive in **his** bunker! Specifically, Supergirl. We can't risk it. We can't risk losing her. _Alex argued. "I'll be fine, Alex. Okay? You need to make sure Eliza is safe. Okay? I can't let you lose her."  _And I can't lose you._ Alex's voice was tight. "You won't. I'll be careful."

 _You can't really be letting this happen, J'onn._  Mon-El continued. "Mon-El. Enough. This is decided. I need you to be focused. I'll be fine." I stated and the comms fell silent.  _Alpha Team approaching location. ETA 5 minutes._ Vasquez reported. "I'm almost at the bunker." I informed.  _Agent Schott, I want you continuously scanning for Kryptonite signatures._  J'onn commanded.  _Yes sir._

I touched down and scanned for any entrance to the bunker. I immediately saw that there was something buried in the mountainside.  _Lead. Just great_ , I thought. I finally located an entrance and cautiously entered. There, I saw a vast warehouse holding hundreds of shipping containers and sealed off vaults. Wires came out of some containers while others were held in groups near the walls. My footsteps echoed through the vacant warehouse.

As I walked around, I could see some things in the vaults. There was an axe similar to Vartox's, black liquid that was circulating through tubes and beakers, a body of a Ag'an floating in a pink chamber, some Phryne weapons, a smaller metal chamber that seemed to have held a suit, but was now gone, and a Black Mercy. A pang of sorrow hit my heart as I thought back to my time with the Black Mercy.

 _Dr. Danvers is secure. Threat is eliminated. No casualties, heading back to DEO with Dr. Danvers in protection._ Vasquez informed. Since it was so quiet in the bunker, I felt like my comm echoed throughout the vastness of the space.  _Supergirl status report._ "No one here. There could be some questionable objects for detainment. Otherwise I-"

Suddenly, something hit the floor and slid to my feet. I turned around to see a small metallic object no bigger than a stick of dynamite slowing by my feet. There was a loud, high pitch ringing that was being emitted by the device. I gasped and fell to my knees, holding my ears in pain as my head pounded. "Well, that was easy." I looked up to see Lex standing over me and Metallo was by his side. "Lex." I growled through my pain. "Hello, Supergirl. Long time no see. How have you been?" He teased.

"Go to hell." I cried as the pain got worse. "No thanks." He watched me in agony for a second before speaking again. "You want to try more of these toys? I know Metallo wasn't done with you the last time you saw him." I looked over to Metallo, who was glowing more than the last time I saw him.  _Supergirl, Agent Schott just got a reading of unstable Kryptonite. The ionizing radiation signature is breaking down at an exponential rate. You need to get out of there._ J'onn reported.

 _Whoa, whoa. If these numbers are right, then it's not just unstable, it's going to blow._ _Kara, you_ _have to turn back. When the Kryptonite explodes, it's gonna send out a radioactive cloud of Kryptonite gas. If you are anywhere near it, it'll kill you._ Winn added on.

The ringing was getting worse every second. I finally found the device and crushed it in my hand. "W-where is Lena?" I asked Lex as I stood back up. He smiled. "She safe. Safe from you. You no longer have any influence on her." He stated. I went to get a hold of Lex, but Metallo grabbed a hold of me and held me in a head lock. "What did you d-do to her?" I gasped as Kryptonite sapped my strength.

"It doesn't matter. You can't do anything about it. Look around, I have everything we need to rid this planet of Kryptonians and every other alien invader, once and for all. I promise you, I will be on the right side of history. You and your backstabbing cousin? No longer a problem, thanks to Lord." He started to talk, and I felt sicker every second.  _If you can still hear me, Metallo's Kryptonite heart, the rate of decay is ticking up. Metallo's heart is going to explode. You need to get out of there, now._ Winn advised. "Why did you kill Lord?" I asked. He laughed again. "Me? Kill Lord? That's ridiculous." He brushed off coolly. His face fell into the notorious Luthor stare. "Why did you have Mark kill him?" I asked again. "I had no need for him. He was weak." Lex stated. "If he was weak, why did you let him work for you?"

An evil smirk worked its way onto Lex's face. "Weakness properly manipulated can be a sharp tool." He stated. I could feel Metallo's Kryptonite heart heating up too quickly as he sent more to my body. "Metallo, you're d-dying. The Kryptonite is g-going to explode." I called out. Lex laughed. "You're lying."

"I'm not. He's going to die if we don't help him."

Lex crossed his arms and Metallo tightened his grip around my neck. "The only one about to die is you. And you're going to pay for what you did to me. To my mother. My sister. How you brainwashed her. Just like Clark did to me before he betrayed me."  _Listen to me, the more Metallo uses the synthetic Kryptonite, the faster it's decaying._  I heard Winn state.  _Get out of there! Now!_  Alex begged.  _Kara, the Kryptonite is almost critical._ Mon-El added on.

Suddenly, Metallo's grip was gone. I took in heavy breaths and coughed raggedly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw J'onn's Martian form fighting off Metallo. "Martian?" Lex looked confused for the first time ever. J'onn threw Metallo away from me and he screamed out as the Kryptonite heart was brighter than ever. Lex looked to Metallo, before his eyes went wide in fear.

_Kara, please!_

_Supergirl, get out of there now! Kara!_

Lex reached into his coat pocket and threw a flashbang grenade. "See you around, Kara." Everything when white and I couldn't hear. I felt something explode before the floor fell out from beneath me _._

_-RA! KARA!_

"It's all right. I have her. I got her out just before the Kryptonite exploded." I heard J'onn try to calm down everyone on the comms as we flew through the sky. "J'onn?" I asked weakly. He looked down to me. "It's okay, Kara. I got you."


	20. Chapter 20

I could already feel my strength coming back to me as we got further away from the bunker. By the time we got back to the DEO, all nausea was gone. J'onn carefully let me stand up and remained by my side acting as a safeguard if I fell. Winn, Alex, Eliza, and Mon-El rushed over to me.

"What the hell Kara? Why didn't you listen to any of us? You could've died!" Winn shouted. "I know. I know. But I'm okay. It was just regular Kryptonite."

"No, you clearly don't Kara! I know you know that you have a crazy fast healing factor, but that would've put you down for the count!" Mon-El argued. "We needed to get some answers." I tried. "Fuck answers! We need you alive! Do you not get that?" Alex cried angrily as she grabbed onto my suit desperately. "Alex." Eliza warned, trying to stop her. Her head whipped around, but she never let go of my suit. "No Mom. She doesn't get it." Alex's grip tightened before she turned her attention back to me.

"I do get it, but you don't understand. We need-" She cut me off. "Fuck that, Kara! It's more like  _you_  need answers! About Lena! Are you really going to jeopardize your own life for  _her_?" She took in a sharp breath and shook me, as if trying to shake some sense into me. "I've spent my entire life protecting you. And then this happens. You make me choose between my mother or you! How could you do that?" Her voice cracked. "What would've happened if J'onn didn't get there in time? Huh? You would've  _died_. And for what? Some fucking  _answers_?"

She let out a short breath and let go of my suit. She pushed away from me and turned away. "See, I would let the Luthors  _win_. I'd let them take over the goddamn world before I lose any more of my family. I don't care what anyone thinks about it. I don't care if anyone looks down on me for that belief. Family is family. We can never get back what we lost." She turned back around. "Of anyone here, I'd assume that  _you_ would understand that the most, but apparently, you don't." My heart clenched and I felt like I was punched in the gut by Hank Henshaw. Tears blurred my vision, but I kept my jaw tight.

Eliza interrupted again. " _Alexandra_!" Eliza yelled. My blood froze. Eliza was great to me, but I knew that she was a forced to be reckoned with whenever anyone stepped out of line. It didn't matter who; in Eliza's eyes, disrespect was disrespect. There was always a line that we knew to never cross with Eliza, and Alex just did.

Tears were running down Alex's face. "Next time,  _think_  of that before you do the heroic 'we need answers and I'll sacrifice myself to get them' act." She muttered before walking off.

I swallowed harshly before a sob escaped my lips. My shoulders shook, but I held in my heartbreak the best I could in front of everyone. I knew that Alex always believed in me, but her words cut deep. Everyone just looked to me in shock and concern. "Kara." Eliza started. I shook my head and pushed away from J'onn's supporting hand. "Sun bed." I stated very shortly before walking away from their eyes.

I laid down, pain echoing in my heart _. Alex was right. I was stupid. Why did I risk everything for answers? Not even one clue to what they have planned. Not one thing that could tell me what Lex did to Lena. Nothing._  I chewed my lip and covered my eyes with my forearm.

I released a sob that was aching in my chest. I hit the paneling and tried to scream, but my voice was melted by the fear of judgment from the others. I bit my clenched hand. The muffled sobs wracked against my chest. The world turned into a blur, and so did all the sounds. The smells.

 _Everything was gone. I lost my planet, my family, Lena, and I might've just lost Alex's faith in me, too._  The last painful thought slammed through my mind before I lost the feeling, of feeling. Exhaustion weighed down on me heavily. Everything darkened into nothingness as I passed into the oblivion of restless unconsciousness.

Despite being under the lamps, I woke up some time later feeling groggy and gloomy. I could feel the dried tears on my face. I reached up and shut off the panels above me. I sat up slowly and looked around me. The med bay was empty, and I couldn't hear any footsteps outside the door. I pulled myself to my feet and quietly exited the med bay.

As I made my way through the DEO, Eliza found me. Her blue eyes searched my face. "Kara." A small sad smile appeared on her face. "Are you okay, Eliza?" I asked. "Me? I'm fine." She answered. "What happened?"

"I was sitting in the den, analyzing some data that the junior intern couldn't verify when I saw shadows in the corner of my eye. I looked out the window and I could see men dressed in black emerging from SUVs. I knew it wasn't the DEO because they had fully automatic rifles in their hands ready to be fired. On your usual visits for my assistance, both of you somehow contact me. There was no contact, and I knew neither of you were hurt. Something had to be up. I went to contact the DEO, but they cut the phone lines. So, I grabbed Jeremiah's handgun and hid out in the old shed. They found me, but I squeezed through the hole in the back of the shed before they could grab me. I was chased for a few minutes before Alex and the other agents showed up." She explained.

My shoulders sagged. "Eliza, I'm so sorry." I tried to apologize. "You don't need to apologize." She pointed out. I shook my head. "No, I do. I should've been there." Eliza reached out and placed her hand on my shoulder. "Honey, you don't. I knew that they wouldn't get me. I knew that Alex or you, or even both of you would've showed up." That just made me feel worse.

"That doesn't excuse anything. They could've gotten you." I argued. She squeezed my arm softly. "But they didn't." I shook my head again. "That's not the point. I should've been there, I could've gotten to you sooner. I can't let Cadmus take you too. Maybe Alex was right." I looked down and away from Eliza's forgiving eyes. She released my arm and grabbed my chin instead.

"Hey, no. No, Kara. Disregard anything she said. She was just upset and scared for you. You went radio silent for a second and we all thought something had happened. Alex crossed a line with what she said." Eliza stated. I sighed and Eliza put her hand down. "Do you know where Alex is?" I asked, trying avoid agreeing with Eliza. She knew that I was trying to avoid it, but let it go anyway. "I'm not exactly sure. Last I saw her was with Vasquez a few hours after you went to the med bay."

I nodded and walked off, searching for Alex.


	21. Chapter 21

I walked throughout the DEO, trying to find any clue to where Alex was. Suddenly, Maggie came up to me. Her eyes were dark with seriousness, but I could see worry behind them. “She told me not to tell you where, but even I know that you two need to talk it out. Before something bad happens. She’s at the shooting range.” Maggie tipped me off. “Thank you, Maggie.” She nodded. “Yeah, but-just be careful. Her emotions are kinda everywhere. She kicked me out of the range only because I asked her if she wanted to talk. So, go easy. Okay?”

“Of course.” I said before walking down to the shooting range. Outside of the doors, I could see a few agents looking like they wanted to enter the range but were too afraid to do so. They all looked to me with wide eyes. I could hear gunfire every two seconds. I hadn’t even entered the range yet, and I knew she was obliterating that target. I swallowed hard before walking in slowly.

Alex stood in one of the middle stalls in the range, unloading clip after clip from one of the handguns. I leaned on the wall behind her, waiting patiently. Finally, the target fell after its remaining pieces couldn’t hold on any longer. She placed the gun down but didn’t turn around. “I don’t want to talk to you.” She stated flatly. “Alex-”

“No, I said I don’t want to talk to you.” She repeated. I sighed. “I know you don’t. So, I’m going to talk to you. And if you don’t want to hear it, you can leave me here.” I said and waited. She didn’t move from her spot, but only started to refill her clips. “Everything you said, you were right.” I started and I saw Alex hesitate for a split second. “What I did, it was stupid. I didn’t take in to consideration what would’ve happened if it went any other way. I shouldn’t have made you choose between Eliza and me. That was cruel. And you can hate me for it. I don’t care. But I wanted to let you know that you were right. I don’t get it. I don’t get how important my life is. And perhaps it’s because I always thought that I don’t deserve to live.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat as tears blurred my vision. “Ever since I saw Krypton explode in front of my eyes. I was numb. Why couldn’t any of my friends survive? Why couldn’t any of our leaders survive? Why couldn’t anyone but me survive? Why did I get to live while everyone else died?” I licked my lips as shame dried my mouth. “When I got here, and Kal was grown up, I felt even worse. Being with you, Jeremiah, and Eliza helped ease the pain of losing it all, but when Astra finally told me that my own mother tricked me into capturing her, and therefore condemned the rest of Krypton, it only made that numbness worse.”

I fiercely wiped away a tear that ran down my cheek. “But seeing you and Maggie, so happy and filled with life, it helped me believe in survival here. When you supported me and Lena being together, I felt a little less like the girl who was responsible for her own planet’s death, a little less like the girl who her own cousin abandoned, and more like someone who could be loved.” She put down the half-filled clip but didn’t do anything else. She stood there silently. “I felt like someone who could see happiness in the face of another outside the Danvers. But after Rick kidnapped you and Lena gave herself up to help us, I felt stuck again. And then finally, I get a way to possibly see Lena again, a way to find out what Lex is planning, a way to protect those who had made me feel so at home and encompassed, then yes, I will risk it all.” I took a shaky breath. “But you were right. Maybe I don’t get it. I just don’t know what it’s like to lose everything. And I never will, until I die and truly lose everything.” I sniffled and turned away.

I started to walk out the door and I heard footsteps. “You were reckless.” She stated. I turned back around. Tears were running down her face too. “I know.” I accepted. “You were too reckless.” She repeated. I took a breath. “I  _know,_ Alex. You don’t have to repeat that. I’m on your side. I should’ve been smarter than that.” I pointed out.

“This isn’t about taking sides, Kara. This is about your safety.”

“I am safe.”

“No, you’re not. Not while you make decisions like that.”

“What then? What’s next? You lock me in the DEO holding cells, like locking a child in their room for misbehaving-”

“YOU COULD HAVED DIED!” She shouted, her voice echoing until the range became quiet. The silence was heavy. Alex took a step closer. Her nose was slightly red, her face blotchy from crying, and the muscle that controlled her jaw was tight against her cheek. She grabbed onto my shoulders. “You could have died.” Her voice barely reached my ears this time. “We could’ve lost you. If you want to make this about fucking sides, I’m on whatever side that keeps you alive. Can’t you see that?” She pleaded. I released a deep breath. “I do. Alex. I’m sorry. I’m so fucking  _sorry_.” Alex pulled me in for a tight hug. We held onto each other for a few minutes, allowing ourselves to cry on each other’s shoulders. “No. I should be sorry.” She hiccupped. “The things I said to you. They weren’t right. I shouldn’t have attacked you  _or_  Krypton like that. That was  _way_  out of line. Can you ever forgive me?” She asked. I pulled away and gave her a watery smile. “Of course, Alex. We’re sisters. It’s okay if we fight every now and again. Besides, I know that both of our emotions are kinda everywhere lately.” I tried to joke. She cracked a small smile. “Yeah, maybe.” I saw a straggler tear race down her face. I reached out and wiped it away.

“Speaking of emotions, you might want to talk to Maggie.” I stated. Her eyes widened. “Crap, Maggie.” I rubbed Alex’s shoulder. “Don’t be too worried. She understands, but I bet that an apology won’t hurt.” Alex quickly kissed my cheek before racing off to find Maggie.

As I was walking back to the control room, I bumped into Eliza again. “I saw Alex running down the hall a few seconds ago.” She stated. “Yeah, I told her to go apologize for snapping at Maggie. She was just trying to be supportive.” I explained. “So, I take it you and Alex talked?” She assumed. I nodded. “Yeah, we did.” I answered. “And?”

“We both decided that we were being stupid and very out of line. But we’re fine.” I stated. Eliza smiled. “I knew you two would be. It’s just so hard to get both of you to see each other’s side sometimes. Especially when you two were teenagers. God, that was a nightmare.” I laughed lightly. “Yeah, but we always got through it.”

“And you always will. You both just need to take a step back.” I gave her a quick hug. “Thanks again Eliza.” She squeezed my shoulders briefly. “Of course.”

Suddenly, agents were rushing around the hallway and out to the control room. Eliza and I hurried out to where everyone was standing. “What’s going on?” I asked. “Cadmus.” Winn reported as he typed away. “Cadmus? They’ve not been too active with any big plans besides trying to kidnap Eliza.” Mon-El pointed out. “How do we know it’s them?” Alex asked.

“We’ve been monitoring several locations and now we have a convoy coming out from one of their suspected weapon storage facilities.” Winn explained. Everyone started to mobilize, until J’onn stepped in. “Alex, take Alpha Team and Mon-El to investigate.” He ordered. I raised my eyebrow. “What about me?” I asked. He shook his head. “No. You’re staying here. If it’s Cadmus, they could have Kryptonite, the regular kind or the special kind. Or both. We can’t send you out there. It could be a trap. They could just be trying to lure you out. They could be trying to get us to leave the DEO vulnerable to their attacks.” J’onn explained. I glanced over to Alex, who was studying me.

I took a breath. “Okay. I’ll stay here. But if anything starts to go bad and anyone is in serious danger, I’m taking off. And no one can stop me.” I argued. “Don’t worry, we won’t try to if it comes down to that.” He stated. Alex gave me a small approving nod before running off with Mon-El and the other agents.

I waited impatiently with Eliza, J’onn, and Winn in the control room. “Agent Danvers, status report.”  _Nothing here besides an abandoned moving truck. No current threat. We’re about to breach the back doors._ I chewed my lip nervously.  _Oh my god._  “What’s wrong?” I asked, ready to take off.  _It’s-It’s dad. Dad is locked in here._ “ _What_?” Eliza gasped and grabbed my hand in shock.  _Confirmed, it’s Jeremiah Danvers. Possibly need a med team ready when we return._  Vasquez reported. “Clear the site and get back to headquarters as quick as possible.” J’onn ordered.  _Roger that._

30 minutes later, the DEO was bustling with the returning team of agents. Alex was supporting a beaten Jeremiah as they walked through the main hall. Eliza dropped my hand and rushed off to his side. “Jeremiah?” She asked. He gave a pained smile. “Eliza.” He grabbed her and Alex in a tight hug. All three of them laughed and it caused a small smile to erupt on my face. “Ow, okay.” He pulled back weakly.

A med team took Jeremiah to the med bay to be assessed. Alex was by my side as Eliza and Dr. Hamilton looked over his injures. “I can’t believe it.” She whispered. “Neither can I.” I stated and grabbed her hand. She looked up to me. “Thank you, Kara.” She stated. “For what? I didn’t do anything.”

“No, you did. You didn’t jump into that situation.” I shrugged. “I knew that you would be fine.” I tried to brush it off. She shook her head. “Not only that, but we couldn’t detect the Kryptonite signatures until after we opened the doors and unlocked Jeremiah. It would’ve been enough to incapacitate you for a while. They aerosolized it.” I scrunched my eyebrows together. “What?”

“If you would’ve breathed that in, your lungs would’ve been severely damaged.” She explained. “Then why didn’t you tell J’onn that?” She gave me a shy smile. “I didn’t want you to worry.”

“What, I wouldn’t have worried.” I tried to protest. She scoffed. “Yeah right. I know how you think. You would’ve thought it was an ambush for us and you would’ve rushed there.” Alex pointed out. “What? Pshhh no.” I flustered. Alex rolled her eyes.

“Wait, if it was aerosolized, then why aren’t any of you making me feel sick?” I asked. “Why do you think that it took us longer to get here? We reported to a decontaminate chamber at the other DEO site. It was on our way here and we didn’t want to put you at risk.” She answered.

J’onn joined us shortly after Alex stopped talking. “How are you two doing?” He asked. “Fine, but it’s kind of hard to wrap my head around the fact that we finally found him.” Alex stated. I nodded silently. Eliza exited the med bay. “You can all come in now. He’s fine, just a few lacerations and bruised ribs.” She stated before walking into the med bay.

Jeremiah smiled as we walked into his field of view. “Jeremiah.” J’onn welcomed. “J’onn J’onzz, it’s so good to see you again.” He greeted. “What happened to you?” I asked. Jeremiah’s face turned serious. “I don't know how long we were rotting out there in the Amazon, but I came to at Cadmus. They saved me, so I could save Henshaw. They forced me to keep him alive, to enhance him. Physically turn him into the monster he was beneath.” Jeremiah turned his attention back to J’onn. “It is strange seeing you in Henshaw's skin.”

“I hope I've put it to good use.” J’onn offered. “Better than he ever did.” Dr. Hamilton added on from the corner of the med bay. Jeremiah chuckled. “But what happened after that? You were gone for such a long time.” I pointed out. “I guess I did too good a job enhancing Henshaw, because Cadmus wanted me to stick around, help 'em with other projects. In the beginning, I tried to escape again and again. But, well, let's just say they didn't appreciate that very much.” He answered.

“Oh, Dad.” Alex whispered. “It's okay, by working with them, I was helping to keep you and your sister safe.” He stated. Mon-El walked into the room. “I’m glad you’re okay.” Jeremiah nodded to Mon-El, a silent thank you.

“But after you saved Mon-El and I, didn’t they torture you?” I asked. He sighed. “Yeah, they did.” He looked away from me. Eliza looked up from Jeremiah’s arm, where she was working silently as we all talked. “Jeremiah, the uh, damage to your arm, it’s too much to repair, I’m sorry.” She explained.

“Part of the punishment when I helped Mon-El and Kara escape. But I would do it again, in a heartbeat.” He smiled at us. “I’m just so lucky that you found me. So lucky to be back with all of you.” He stated. Smiles echoed throughout the med bay. His eyes landed on me. “I uh- is it okay if I talk to Kara alone please?” He asked the room. Everyone left and it was just Jeremiah and I in the med bay.

“Something wrong Jeremiah?” I asked. “No, not really.” He answered simply. “Then what’s up?” I asked. “You and the Luthor.” He stated quietly. I swallowed and hesitated as he stared at me. “How do you know?” I asked. “Lex was quite angry when he found out. He was already angry at Lillian’s death. You only infuriated him more.” I looked away.

“I know. I’m sorry for putting everyone else at risk, Jeremiah.” I stated, shame lacing my voice. “Kara, look at me.” I slowly looked up. “I am not mad at you.”

“What? You’re not?” He shook his head. “No, why would you think I would be?” He asked. “One, I’m dating a girl. Two, the girl I’m dating is a Luthor. You have always been so cautious. You have always wanted me to be cautious, and here I am, throwing caution to the wind.” I stated. He smiled. “Kara, I don’t care what your sexual preference is. I know that Krypton never saw love and family only with a male and female as its foundation. Rao paired two people together because they were perfect for one another. It never mattered what sex they were. You know that. Eliza and I studied Krypton’s beliefs and societal norms for years, even before you came to Earth. And secondly, caution sometimes should be thrown to the wind. Cadmus had me work on DEO watch to make sure we were undiscovered, and I came across a leak in the private files. I knew it was invading privacy, but I had to make sure that you and Alex were still okay. I read them and I found out that Alex started dating Maggie. It was in some paperwork and the annual psych evals. Alex’s insecurities actually lessened and her mental stability only improved after she starting dating Maggie.” He pointed out.

“You know about Maggie too?” He smiled. “Of course. And no, I’m not going to turn Alex away just because she is with Maggie, and I'm not going to turn you away because you are with Lena.  Love is love, and nothing I say will change that. And I wouldn’t want to change it either. She is still my Alex, and you're still my little Kara. I’d rather you two be happy than to hide your real selves to the family. I don't care she is a Luthor, I just want you to be happy, and safe.” I bit back tears of happiness as I wrapped Jeremiah in a soft hug. “Thank you, Jeremiah.” He wrapped his arm around me briefly.

“Now, go send in Alex. I do think there is some thing we need to discuss as well.” I nodded and walked out of the med bay. Alex was waiting for me. “What did he say?” She asked. “Go in there, Jeremiah wants to talk to you.” She raised her eyebrow but walked into the med bay. I waited outside for Alex.

Mon-El walked up to me. “Hey Kara.” He greeted. “Hi Mon-El.” I answered. “Are you busy?” He asked. “No, is something wrong?” He looked into the med bay before speaking. “Don’t you think that this timing is a little too good?” He asked. I raised my eyebrow in question. “What does that mean?” I asked. “I mean, don’t you think it’s too much of a coincidence that Jeremiah escapes right as we’re about to crack the code of what the Luthors and Cadmus are trying to do?”

I shook my head and sighed. “Now is not really the best time to bring this up Mon-El. Besides, do you have any solid evidence?” I asked. He hesitated. “Well, no.”

“Then drop it, please.” I stated. Alex started to make her way out to me. Mon-El walked away in a huff. As Alex walked out, tears were in her eyes, but I knew, like me, they were tears of happiness. “On a scale of one to crazy happy, how crazy happy are you? Because I mean-” She beamed at me and I immediately stopped talking. “I have my entire family with me.” She whispered. I smiled back at her. “So I’m thinking a dinner to celebrate his return?” I asked. She nodded. “Sounds great.”

A day later, everyone was in my loft. J’onn and Jeremiah were talking to each other, Mon-El was helping Eliza cook, Maggie and Alex were sitting on my couch with Winn and James as they discussed what game to play. I smiled to myself, happiness washed over me, until I saw one spot empty. It was the seat right by the couch, right where Lena loved to sit. My smiled faltered, but I shook my head and told myself to enjoy the night.

We all sat down at the table after Mon-El and Eliza finished cooking the dinner. I raised my glass. “A toast. To coming home.” Everyone raised their glasses and echoed me. Jeremiah stood up. “Now, obviously, this is going to be a time of adjustment. But I hope you'll all be patient with me. I've seen and done things that I wish I hadn't.” He started.

Alex tried to stop him. “Dad, don't.” He shook his head. “No, sweetie. If I'm going to move forward, I can't ignore my past. Cadmus changed me, they tried to break me. But in the process, they made me dangerous. I know their weaknesses, and I'm want to work with all of you to make our planet safer. So, if you'll have me, Director, I'd like to return to the DEO. Formally.” He stated. I glanced over to J’onn. “J'onn? Can he?” Winn asked. “Pending a full psych evaluation and a field readiness exam. We'll give you the tour tomorrow.” J’onn answered and Jeremiah smiled. “Thank you, friend.” I looked around the table and saw Mon-El glaring at Jeremiah. I said nothing, but I knew I was going to talk to him soon.

A few hours later, everyone was gone except for Mon-El. He walked over to me as I put the last of the dishes in my sink. “Did you think that was odd? What Jeremiah said at dinner?” He asked. “What? No.” I brushed it off absentmindedly as I washed the last plate. “Think about it. I’m in the DEO for two months before I can pee alone, and he wants to walk right back in? Isn’t that salmony?” He asked.

“Fishy.” I corrected him. “And I mean, he did work at the DEO.” I tried to counter. “Right, fishy. No matter, he spent a lot of quality time in Cadmus. He’s probably going to get full access too. No background checks or tests for ulterior motives?”

I set the plate down, annoyed. “Why won’t you accept this?” I asked. “What?” He questioned. “I mean, why are you pushing this?” I asked again. He crossed his arms. “We’re just going to give him free reign?” I walked away from his face. He followed me over to where I was picking up some empty beer bottles. “Why is no one questioning this? Is that not crazy?” He prodded. I turned around to face Mon-El.

“If your father walked through that door right now, after all these years that you thought he was dead, what would you do?” I asked. “I would run.” He answered shortly and I was confused.

“Run?”

“He was not a good man.” Mon-El grimaced the second that left his mouth. “Sorry, I didn’t mean anything like that about Jeremiah.” He tried to apologize. “This is not about you and your suspicion. You are out of line. And you need to leave my home.” I stated. He swallowed. “Kara- No, that's the-” I cut him off. “No, no! And I asked you to give Jeremiah the benefit of the doubt and you ignored that. So I don't-”

He held his hands up defensively. “Okay, okay, hey! I'm sorry. That is two strikes on me, okay, but let's just- let's let it go.” He tried to defuse the situation. I laughed dryly. “This is not baseball. You know what, why don't I show you out?” I asked. He shook his head and walked out the door. I pulled off my glasses after the door closed behind Mon-El and I rubbed my temples.

The next morning, I arrived back at the DEO. Mon-El walked up to me. “Mon-El.” I greeted, although a little coldly. “Can we talk?” He asked. I crossed my arms and studied him for a second. “Fine.” I stated after a few seconds. “Look, I’m sorry for last night. I was rude, and that was uncalled for. But can you please just see it away from any influence the Danvers have on you?” He stated calmly. “You have 5 minutes.”

He gave me a small grateful smile. “Look, I know you're happy he's back-” Mon-El started, but I interrupted him. “Are you not?” I asked. “I-He saved us. So, yes.” He answered.

“Then why are you so against this?”

“I was there and I watched you solar flare, and it didn't look like they were trying to, you know, capture your heat-vision. It looked like they just wanted you to blow your powers out. To make you human and see your limits.” He explained. I rolled my eyes. “Mon-El, you are not a scientist.” I argued. “And you don't know Cadmus wants, but I bet Jeremiah does.” He stated. “Why is it so hard for you to trust him?” I asked. Mon-El narrowed his eyes at me. “Why is it so easy for you?” He questioned. “Because he's always protected me, at great cost!” I yelled.

Mon-El pulled me into a small room. “Yes, he had, but he also lived with your enemy for years. And I mean when is the last time we were this lucky? Lucky enough that Cadmus was moving their most valuable prisoner, a guy that the DEO has been unable to find for over 15 years? And he just he just lands in our lap? That seems too easy, especially for the Luthors. We need to quarantine him. At least until we know exactly what he's has been doing for the past 15 years.” Mon-El reasoned.

I furrowed my eyebrows at his reasons. They made more sense then I wanted to admit to. “They-they forced him to keep Henshaw alive.” I stated weakly. “What makes you think that they're not forcing Jeremiah to do something now? Huh?” He asked. I sighed. “Okay, we’ll keep an eye on him. But I still trust him.” I stated.

“Trust is easily broken, Kara.” He said before walking off. I was shocked, and angry at Mon-El.  _What gave him the right to question Jeremiah?_  I exhaled through my nose forcibly as annoyance flooded my veins.

I left the small room and saw J’onn, Alex, Winn, and Jeremiah in the control room. As I walked up, Jeremiah was the first to see me. His eyes followed my movements as I approached them. They seemed to almost be evaluating me and it was unsettling. I brushed off the odd feeling and stood next to Alex. Even just by standing next to her, I could tell she was happy and content. I was still put off by the way Jeremiah watched me, but Alex’s happiness soon distracted me.

“-and that’s the new DEO.” Alex explained. I blinked and realized that I zoned out as they were showing Jeremiah the improved headquarters. “Thank God we’re out of that cave. I think I saw a bat in there once.” He pointed out. “Kara said she was bit by one when she was there.” Winn added on. Jeremiah gave me a questioning look. “Yeah, but Bruce and I have made amends since then.” I answered. “Bruce?” Alex asked. “Yeah-” I stopped myself short as I was going to say the bat was named after the Big Bad Bat himself. “I thought it suited him.” I lied quickly. Everyone but Winn continued with their discussion of the new headquarters. However, Winn looked at me, his eyebrow raised, before his eyes widened.

I put my fingers to my lips and he nodded very quickly before smiling to himself proudly. I rolled my eyes and jumped into the conversation. “I know that Cadmus has a nuclear bomb.” Jeremiah stated. “Been there, done that.” I stated and Alex held out her fist. I bumped it playfully as J’onn rolled his eyes.

“What?” Jeremiah asked. “Yeah, a while ago we found out that Lillian and the rest of Cadmus had a nuclear bomb as well as stockpiled Kryptonite.” Winn answered. Jeremiah furrowed his brows. “Jeremiah?” J’onn asked. “That can’t be right. I remember Lillian talking about the bomb so recently.” He stated. “Dad, Lillian is dead. She has been for a while. Lex tried to shoot Kara, but it ricocheted off Kara and hit Lillian.” Alex tried to explain. Jeremiah stiffened briefly, before shaking his head again, this time more fiercely. “No, it can’t be. I  _remember_  Lillian talking to me not too long ago!” He asserted.

Alex went to grab Jeremiah’s arm, but he pushed her away. I expected her to slightly move, but not go flying across the room. “Alex!” I called. She stumbled as she stood up. “I’m-I’m okay.”

Everyone looked to Jeremiah, who was now glaring at us darkly. “Jeremiah?” I asked. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I know it's been a while, but I finally got another chapter done, and this one is a lot longer than the last. Yay! If you hadn't caught on, I'm using some dialogue from the show, more specifically, from the episode Homecoming. At the last minute, I got a great idea and decided to make this story a bit longer before it comes to an end, because let's be honest, despite the fact that Lena and Kara have been torn apart for so long (and it's killing me to do so), I have had a lot of fun writing for this story. So when I got the opportunity to make it a little longer, it made me excited. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I guess I'll see you all soon!


End file.
